


A Woman's Woman

by Cypher_DS, Mystic_Knightwolf



Category: Huniepop & Huniecam (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2020-05-01 19:31:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19184203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cypher_DS/pseuds/Cypher_DS, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Knightwolf/pseuds/Mystic_Knightwolf
Summary: When one hits Glenberry for a vacation, they're in for a good time. When they discover that cute girls, fairies, and aliens call this place home, if they pack the right gear, they're in for a great time. But when they get hitched to all of the above and then some? Forget about it!





	1. A Love Fairy's Welcome

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings, ladies and gents. 
> 
> It comes to my attention that quite a lotta people come here, rather than Fanfiction. That being the case, I figured I'd move my story here. For those of you who kept up on Fanfiction, I do hope that reading it here is more convenient. For those of you who are new to the story, welcome!
> 
> Depending on how well-received my story is, I'll be posting daily or so up until my story is caught up. Then, I'll be posting new chapters weekly.
> 
> Fun times are ahead, and I do very much hope the lot of you are as excited as I am!
> 
> Hopefully, I'll be done before the sequel!

Tala Stone ushered a long, jaw-aching yawn as she stepped back outside for the umpteenth time.

After a ten-hour ride on a crowded plane and an agonizingly long weekend in an empty house with naught but a backpack of essentials to hold her over, Tala's luggage had finally shipped to the lovely little town of Glenberry, and she could finally start unpacking. She thought it'd be a smooth process in moving her things from the U-Haul truck to her home, up until she realized the dumb little frat boy who brought said truck was dead-set on leaving her things in the driveway as opposed to in her damn house where they should be. He had all but dropped her plasma screen onto the sidewalk, and before she could close the distance to bark in the teen's face about being careful, that being the last item, he had scrambled into the truck and peeled off before she could finish crossing the yard.

Sighing to herself and straightening her button-up, the new resident stepped back out onto the driveway, rolling her sleeves down to handle a sizable wooden crate labeled 'Fragile'. As she squatted down and wrapped her strong arms around the splintery edges, she shot back up without so much as a heave, giving the large, wooden box enough airtime for her to secure a grip under it. The noisy jingle of heavy metal was heard, but they were somewhat muffled by the agonizing sound of rustling styrofoam packing peanuts, both noises nonetheless making the woman purse her lips to deal with the irritating sound inches from her ears.

But before she could carry it into the house, there came a girlishly perky voice from behind. "Hubba hubba. I've seen some strong women, but damn! You lift, bruh? And you're a ginger? That's a twofer!" Glancing over her shoulder, Tala bore witness to a young, petite little brunette adorned in a red crop top and a pair of jean shorts as she stood leaning back against one of the boxes.

"Charming," came Tala's deadpan response as she proceeded to carry her crate into the house. "What brings you over here, sweet stuff? You don't seem the Samaritan type." she wondered upon returning, sleeves rolled back up to massage her beefy forearms.

Resting her hands on her petite hips, the brunette spoke, "Well, Miss Amazon Lumberjack, I thought I could help a sexy giant like you find your way around town. Name's Kyu, by the way."

"Tala," the larger woman introduced, walking up to pick up the plasma screen, that being the last item. "Very neighborly of you, Kyu. That, or you're a fairy."

Kyu tried to laugh it off ass playful banter, but her laughing off the joke died in her mouth when she saw the suave smirk on Tala's lips before she rounded the corner, stepping into her house. She smirked, crossing her arms. "Oh? Figure that out all on your own?"

"A cute little girl smelling of fruity candy offering help out of the blue?" Tala reasoned, dusting her hands as she stepped back out again, finally shutting the door behind her. "I've been there."

"Alright, then let's cut to the chase," the love fairy proclaimed, walking up the now clear driveway. "There's some be-autiful ladies in this town I know an amazon like you will just love love love to throw around the bedroom."

Tala chuckled at the repeated use of that title as she looked down at herself. She didn't think she was that tall or muscular. Well yeah six-two, two-thirty, but no monstrous proportions. Her shoulders did a good job of making themselves known through the supposedly roomy button-up shirt. Same deal with her loose-fit jeans, as her hips, thighs, and butt all too well eliminated the need for any belt, though she wore one anyway. "Amazon aside, I didn't come to town looking to be a skirt-chaser. That's a chapter I left closed. Hereon, I'd just like to relax on my vacation," she explained, looking back at the fairy in disguise.

"And you can, Nariko! Holy shit, that'd be an amazing cosplay for you. You even sound like her, minus the accent..." Kyu commented, drinking in the large woman with her eyes. She even gave a small lick of her lips. But self control took hold again, and she shook her head free of the sexy image. "My point being, you don't gotta follow that 'get up, score, sleep, repeat' routine. You know, you can have a life besides a womanizess. Don't know why you'd want to, though."

The tall redhead rolled her eyes, making sure the tote bin Kyu plopped up on didn't have anything fragile. "Well, if you're a love fairy, you're going to either hound me until I say yes, or have someone else play your tricks on me, not like you have much else to do..."

"Hey!"

"But you seem like someone worth talking to. If I accept though, I hope you know I'll be taking my time."

The love fairy shrugged her arms, throwing up her hands. "Hey, that means I got more time to bullshit! And clog your search history with porn. As long as you qualify for some frenzied fucking, I dun my job! But if you really don't want an _outstanding_ wingman like myself at your back, I'll keep my distance. Besides, since you're a former client, you should still have your Huniebee. Lets me skip showing you the basics."

Tala leaned on one leg, giving her a blatant look. "Yes, I think I still have my woman Pokedex somewhere. You should be in it by now."

Kyu giggled a cute little giggle. "I like you already."

"Erm, speaking of former clients, why exactly am I being hounded by you fairies again?" She was rather curious as to exactly why she'd been chosen as a client again after she'd already left her last fairy companion on good terms as a babe magnet. She didn't bed everything in sight, but Tala had a successful run, as far as she was concerned.

" _Welllll_ , you came up in the database as an above-average gal -getting two sisters to go down on you at once, fixing a broken relationship before fucking both occupants- and once I saw those bodacious tits of yours, I _had_ to come and see for myself! Like, you have NO idea what I'd do to have tits like that!" Kyu's made a squeezing motion with her hands as they closed in on Tala's chest, but even though the gesture was a joking one, the amazon's piercing gaze was more than enough to warn her of the repercussions.

Crossing her arms under those giant, clothed chesties, Tala regarded Kyu's following pout with a raised brow. "E-cups are a little too big for that tiny chest of yours, don't you think?"

"Fuck that noise, Tal! I'd like something I can actually hold up!" Though Kyu's C-cups were enough to turn heads and put something in your hand, the love fairy has always been particularly smitten by big, bouncing tits. She crossed her arms under her chest, but she looked back to Tala doing the same thing, and she grew an exasperated look. "See?!"

"... Okay. I... get your point. But onto important things, I don't mind having you around, but let's talk later. I have work to do," Tala explained, beckoning with her head to leave the living room. In her experience, love fairies aren't too much trouble to have wandering around your house, so long as you don't have soda, candy, and porn easily accessible. With a laptop a big-ass house, and a vacation's worth of money to spend, it was no trouble at all.

"Do me proud, will ya?" And with that, Kyu stuck out a playful tongue at Tala and made her departure.

Seeing her leave, Tala grumbled, running a hand through her fiery locks. _'And to think I wanted to relax here... Well, if I'm to enjoy myself at all, I might as well give it a shot. I'll unpack later.'_   Picking her bummed mood back up, the strong woman grabbed her keys, locked the door to her house, and headed off, convincing herself that her new resident wouldn't be trouble. No doubt Kyu would be moving in and begging her to buy candy and soda, if her last one was any indication, but she'd think on it later.

She had a town to explore. _'I hope she uses incognito mode...'_

XXXXX

Sometimes, Aiko could honestly say that she felt like a cornered animal.

It's like, all of her students expect her to be this peppy, upbeat, brilliant teacher with infinite patience. Quite frankly, it couldn't be further from the truth. Aiko, nine times out of ten, wanted to kneecap these dumb kids. Unyielding mountains of work to grade, little rugrats for students as they try day-in and day-out to hit on her, a stupid-ass superintendent that couldn't lead rats to a trash can...

"Good morning Aiko."

 _'_ _Ah, there's a calming voice.'_ Sitting straight on the bench again, the bored professor looked over to see her tall, Indian goddess-looking friend. "Oh, hey Beli," came her half-hearted response as the other woman walked over to sit next to her.

Seeing her friend down in the dumps, Beli tilted her head, offering a sad smile. "What's wrong today?"

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Life."

"How are classes going?" Beli asked, figuring talking about her plight will do her companion some good. It was pretty obvious to any of Aiko's friends that she didn't like to associate with the academic setting, much less be staffed there, but Beli knew she was a good-hearted person when she's not weighed down by it all. When Aiko Yumi finally lets loose and has fun, it's a trip for anyone along for the ride.

But sadly, this wasn't one of those times. " _Ugghhhh_ , I don't wanna talk about that."

Seeing just how down her friend was, Beli began pondering. "Mmmmm, well, I think I have just the thing," she proclaimed with an edge of enthusiasm, as much as her soft, relaxed voice would allow. "I'm headed to the beach to work on a few poses. You should join me." she smiled. "Nothing like a little exercise to melt that stress away."

Aiko really didn't wanna go, not because she was against the idea, but she just felt too drained to even fathom the idea. But she also didn't like disappointing people. _'Buuut...'_ "Ehhhh, not today. I'm just not feelin' it. Besides, I don't wanna do too much while between classes."

Saddened, but understanding at the decline, Beli resigned and decided to just give Aiko some peace and quiet. "Will I at least be seeing you at the studio this weekend?"

Glad for the change in subject, Aiko cast her companion a small smile. "I'll be there. I don't think I have anything else going on, for once."

That brightened up Beli's day. "Great! Can't wait. See you there. And take care." And with that, the soft-spoken woman stood up, stretched, and made her leave.

Now alone again, Aiko let her head fall back on the back of the bench, and let out a guttural groan that was originally supposed to be a cleansing sigh. "I'd kill to have a job I actually liked..."

"Killing is a bit rash, don't you think?" the Asian beauty looked over her shoulder to see a tall, tomboyishly dressed ginger casually walking up to her. "I'd save the katana for the watermelons."

That made her laugh. "Haha, you're terrible!"

"What's terrible is a job that would make you want to kill for a different one," Tala said, taking a seat next to her. "That bad?"

Aiko rolled her eyes. "Ugh, don't even get me started. Between the kids hitting on me, the mountain of work I need to grade, and overall not feelin' the school setting, I could use a break, to say the least." she slouched back in her seat, throwing a leg over the other. "I'm just trying to relax; enjoy a little downtime between classes. I teach up at UOG. It's the only university in the city, for some reason."

"Bored of the sexy teacher angle?"

Aiko grinned, looking back up to the sky. "It ran its course. And lemme tell you, it got old." She laughed again. "I'm glad you came over here. I needed a good laugh. The kids call me Miss Yumi, but you can call me Aiko."

"Tala. Ever a pleasure."

"The pleasure's all mine."

"So..."

"Yeeeess?"

The redhead had to force back a shudder once she heard the low, sultry drone of Aiko's reply. "I'm new in town. I don't suppose you got a spot worth checking out? First thing I need to know is where to grab a drink."

Aiko quirked a brow interest. "Hmmm... there's a bar I go to, but I'd rather not set myself up like that on hours. I'd kill for some sake right now, but there's a cafe I do go to on my breaks."

Tala grinned. "You do a good job of staying Japanese," she teased, standing up, stretching her back. "But I'm partial to a tall, stiff one of whiskey."

Another good laugh. "I know, right?" Aiko jokingly agreed, rising up as well. "Got an expedition planned?"

The ginger nodded, covering her yawn with a hand. "Would you consider a little caffeine at the Cafe?"

"Uhhh... fuck it, why not?"

XXXXX

"Haha, you're hot already, or are you just happy to see me?" Aiko joshed as the duo walked down the busy street sidewalk. During the walk, Tala started getting sick of the late afternoon sun, the professor figured as the ginger began unbuttoning her shirt.

"Hmmm, a little of both," Tala replied with a grin as she finished unbuttoning the top, freeing the black tank top that so shamelessly made known her endowed chest and the toned body underneath.

Aiko couldn't stop staring. "Holy shit, are those D-cups?" On most women Aiko knew that sported a generous cup size, like Kyanna, Jessie, and even herself with her quaint stature of five-four, the large, succulent breasts seemed a burden. Though a fitness girl like Kyanna and a total cougar like Jessie would have absolutely no problem dealing with the size and the weight of those giant love-pillows, even on their curvy little bodies, they seemed like they could get in the way sometimes. But on this tall, toned drink of water, the size seemed just right. Not a hindrance, and didn't over-encompass the chest area. And they looked as firm as can be, refusing to give under the undoubtedly tight squeeze of that tank top.

"Double E," Tala replied as they neared the cafe. "You?"

"D." The two entered the establishment, and were immediately greeted by the sweet aroma of baked goods and coffee. "I'll tell ya, I can go for coffee any time of day, I swear," Aiko praised, taking a deep, satisfying whiff of the intoxicating smells that tickled her nose.

"You're lucky," the taller woman said with an amused grin as they made their way to the front counter. "You won't look a day over twenty no matter what you eat or drink."

"Haha, yeah. Being Japanese is pretty sweet." The two got their drinks and picked a tall table near the front window. While Aiko got herself a frappuccino, Tala settled on a hot mug of apple cinnamon tea.

"Thanks again for covering me, Tal," Aiko thanked, taking her first sip, licking up the cream that made its way on her upper lip. "I feel like kind of a dick for letting the new resident here pay, though."

Tala gave a light huff, smirking as she raised her drink to her lips. "Need I remind you that we're here for you? With your job leaving you in the state _you_ were in, you needed this trip a lot more than me." She took a sip. "Any luck job searching in the past?" Surely, someone so drained by their current occupation would try looking for one they like, right?

The teacher shrugged. "I guess you're right. And yeah, I did a little lookin' around, but there's close to zero time to really put effort towards it with the mountains of work that needs grading. And the university makes it nearly impossible to just up and quit since Glenberry is a little out of the way."

"Well..." Tala began after taking another sip of her tea. "I'm in town mainly to unwind. But I suppose I could make some money while I'm here. I know we just met, but you could really use the help. I could take your place as a sub for a time, give you vital breathing room to find a job."

Aiko nearly choked on her coffee. "Shit, are you serious?! I can't do that!" She needed a moment to compose herself and digest what she was just told. "I mean, not cause I don't want to, but, you know, we just met!"

But Tala kept cool at witnessing the shocked teacher's reaction. "Well Aiko, you seem like a caged animal, if work isn't leaving you too drained to enjoy the finer things in life. We're in this dainty little coffee shop to give you enough energy to get _back_ to work. If your active hours consist of work and preparing for it, then maybe it's time for some life changes, eh?" She didn't want to seem overbearing in helping Aiko, but...

A very good point indeed... "Alright alright, you made your point. I mean, I ever expected it today to find a silver bullet to a problem that's been riding me for almost a decade."

Now Tala really felt sympathy for Aiko. All that time wasted... But maybe she's jumping to conclusions; despite the obvious predicament, Aiko wasn't in any immediate trouble or facing a life crisis, if she put valuable time aside to befriend a stranger. Her job just took a lot out of her. And Tala didn't think someone like her would even pick a job as a professor if she hated every second of it. "Knowing your calling in life by the end of highschool is a tight deadline, to say the very least. But it's not like I'm doing a whole lot. I'm just taking teaching out of your day so you have time to go job searching."

"Well that's a lot to me, considering what exactly being a sexy Japanese university professor entails. Trust me, once you meet my class, you'll be in for it." There was a good dose of amusement when she said that, and that grin of hers didn't help.

But Tala wasn't phased. "Then I'll take it as a challenge," she declared with a smirk. "I'll sub in as long as you need, or until the university hires another professor."

"Alright, cool. I know the dean will be happy as fuck to see me go. Don't think they'll put anything in the way of that."

"I can't imagine why. If I wasn't such a samaritan, I'd be looking for a way to eat you out under your desk during class." A bold move on Tala's part, especially with her Huniebee still somewhere amongst her things and not with her, but Aiko was so nonchalant about talking about her sexy teacher angle, and that gave Tala a hunch as to which type of affection the teacher preferred. And it seemed to pay off when she saw Aiko's reaction.

"Holy shit. That would be fuckin' hot!"

But the amazon lumberjack wasn't quite done yet. "While you're trying so desperately to read the day's assignment with a straight face. But with a large woman like me? Tending to those smooth lips? All to impossible." The tall ginger's voice was dripping with sultry venom, and all that did was get Aiko flustered even more as she held onto every word. Tala was large woman, no doubt about it. And it was fun to imagine what a six foot, big-boobied amazon would feel like in bed, and even moreso to imagine how good someone like that would be at eating her out. Would the large woman also have a large tongue?

"Fuck..." The flustered teacher had to rest her forehead in her hand in order to process the vivid imagery. "Now I can't get it outta my head!" But that huge, dopey grin told everyone right away that she loved every part of that.

Tala stifled a laugh at the sexy professor, watching her squirm at the hot scenario. She too was imagining the idea of burying her face in between the professor's flawless legs while she tried and failed to speak straight in front of the class, and it was getting her flustered too, but it didn't eat at her like the former. "Alright alright, I'll ease p." she concluded, finishing off her tea. "But let's get back to the topic at hand. When is a good time to meet you at the school to talk about your departure?"

Happy at the change of subject, Aiko cupped her chin, pondering. "Hmmm. It's Sunday now, so... Tuesday. That's after the exams are graded and given back. Gives me at least a little breathing room."

Tala nodded, satisfied. "Alright. Hopefully, you have some free time to relax. You have a favorite hangout in Glenberry?"

"You can't find me anywhere but the casino!"

"Then we might have to go there to celebrate once we get all this sorted out."

"Hey, I'm down! That'd be nice!"

After they made their plan for helping Aiko and her predicament, the two started talking about... well everything. Favorite type of porn, the 'best' mythological creature, favorite childhood toys, art, anime, the list went on. It was as if the two were long lost friends instead of strangers, and neither party didn't mind in the least. They just kept talking.

And before they knew it, an hour had passed. "Oh shit! I better get going!" Aiko exclaimed as she checked the time to find she had lest than half an hour to get back to the university.

And Tala didn't keep her waiting. "Don't let me slow you down. I'm free anytime."

"Good shit! I'll talk to ya later." They exchanged numbers and Aiko left, leaving Tala to her own devices. Without someone to talk to, the redhead was about to up and leave, but then, she noticed, the barista that served her and Aiko left as the next girl on the shift arrived. An awfully short, blue-haired girl with glasses made her way into the cafe with a scowl that was tired of the world itself. Already, Tala felt tempted to try and cheer her up.

After returning from the back to throw a uniform apron over her loose-fitting sweater, the girl was now hunched over the front counter, bored out of her mind. There was but a handful of occupants in the establishment, but she didn't bother throwing on the customary fake smile.

Seeing her opportunity, Tala got up, grabbing her mug, and made her way over to the counter. "You stepped in not two minutes ago, and you look like you'd rather be a million places but here." she began in a conversational tone.

"What gave it away?" Nikki didn't bother hiding the irritation in her voice as her eyes were trained on her phone, her head propped up on the countertop.

Taka shrugged, resting an elbow on the opposite side of the counter. "What didn't? But in all seriousness, you look like you could use someone to talk to to hold you over the boredom."

"Umm... sure. That's okay, I guess..."


	2. Welcoming: A Cool Barista and a Hot Mama

Her name was Nikki Anne-Marie.

Her favorite color was beige cream, she liked to game and surf the internet at home, and she had a totally unapologetic bitch for a friend. At least, that was all Tala was able to get from the introvert cutie before she changed her mind on conversation and gently requested that she be left alone. "Hey um, sorry but can... can I, you know, be left alone? I'm just.. tired, you know?" Nikki didn't know what made her so nervous, whether it be the normal trepidation that came with asking people not to do something, or the intimidating size of the woman she was currently talking to. Standing a measly five feet, the redhead easily towered over a foot higher.

But Tala, being the nice person she was, smiled and honored her wishes. "It's okay, that's fair. Another time, then." She urged, putting up a reassuring hand. The last thing Tala wanted was to seem imposing to Nikki, but that was difficult when she was twice the bluenette's size and several times her muscle mass. If she tried, she could pick up the gamer girl with one hand. "Be seeing you."

XXXXX

After the cafe, Tala continued her walk through town with the intention of getting back home. Before coming to Glenberry, she had heard that the town had a little bit of everything, from ice rinks to casinos to fancy restaurants, but she figured they were just a little out of the way. Either that, or they're all in whatever rich people district this place has.

It was a rather straight-forward walk back to her house, and who else to greet her there but Kyu? "Yo, don't think I didn't see that!"

"..." Tala just furrowed her brows as she stepped into her home.

The love fairy just gave her an exasperated look as she fluttered aside. "Oh, come _on_! You know you'll be fucking that sexy teacher's brains out soon! I gotta tell ya, I've got the worst case of yellow fever! Like,  _ever_!"

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." With a yawn, the ginger removed her button-up shirt and tossed it in one of the boxes.

"Bear with me here! You've only seen her once, and she's practically eating out the palm of your hand! I'm just sayin', this one's in the bag! Especially after you help her with the substitute gig! You fuck on the first date?"

"That's not why I'm here," Tala dismissed, picking up a large container full of clothes and heading up the stairs.

"Yeah yeah, I know. But damn! You'd honestly past that up?" Kyu pursued, exasperation still in her voice.

"What's stopping  _you_?"

"Aw, don't be like that! I'm here for  _you_ , Nariko!"

Nickname aside, that actually got Tala thinking for a moment. Even though she wasn't really on for the idea, the amazon still accepted Kyu's err... services. It'd be unbecoming of her to actively avoid doing the very thing she agreed to. But it wasn't like she was in a rush... "Like I said, I'll take my time." If she really started grinding like how other love fairy clients did, she'd be an empty, fluid-spent husk by the end of the second week.

"Hey, that's all I'm askin', Nariko." Tala considered looking up who that was... "But you know, don't be so afraid of looking like a womanizer! Ain't nothin' wrong with a girl wanting some relief every once in a while! Besides, some of these girls here might already fill that role!"

Kyu's comment made Tala think back to Aiko for a good moment. Part of the reason the Japanese hottie had been so fun to talk to was because she'd been so open about sexuality. But it did get her wondering whether Aiko was the type that liked hot, crazy sex, or the type that watched an insurmountable amount of porn and fingers herself like a jackhammer. Maybe both? Both would be nice...

"Like?" Tala continued, referring to Kyu's remark.

"There's this one milf hottie in town who'd...  _probably_  leave you a twitching, sweaty, reeking wreck by the time she's done with you. Just sayin'."

"Good to know..." There was a small bit of conflict in Tala's voice, barely noticeable, but Kyu was grinning like mad now.

The love fairy knew she'd struck a nerve. "I know, right? Her name's Jessie. A mature woman knows how to please."

"... Thanks for the advice. I'll be going to bed now," Tala concluded as she headed back down into the living room. While fishing for a blanket, her expression turned irritable at the sound of Kyu's giggle. But finding her grey and beige covers, she shed her boots and her jeans, leaving just a grey pair of boxers with her tank top.

"Fuck. Boxers and no bra? Honestly, you're a wo _man_."

Tala flopped down on the sofa, throwing her blanket over her lower body. "Don't eat all my snacks."

Kyu rolled her eyes. "Pfft, I won't. Frankly, you don't talk enough for that."

"G'night."

"Big day tomorrow, eh?" Tala stayed silent and rolled over.

XXXXX

When Tala awoke the following morning, she had the Fitness Club in mind.

But with the process of moving into a house, she had things to do and she'd rather do them early. So after a hot shower and freshening up, the ginger got straight to unpacking. Clothes went onto hangers, hangers went into closets, a bed was dressed and neatly made, the bathrooms were stocked with toiletries and hygiene equipment, her plasma screen was set atop the entertainment center in the living room and hooked up -luckily it still worked-, and her laptop was plugged in and charging on the sofa.

What was early morning turned into noon, and so Tala did her hair into a loose ponytail and packed a running bag full of essentials before throwing on some fitness attire from one of her packing boxes. Her outfit consisted of a pair of grey sweatpants to go with her black compression tee, and a pair of running shoes.

The redhead was currently bent over the edge of a large box, ruffling through her things in search of her Huniebee. However, there was no way a lean, tall, wide-hipped beaut in sweatpants with her fine ass in the air would go unnoticed by the resident love fairy. "Dayum girl!" Tala's heel stopped inches from the face of the love fairy that so brazenly announced her presence after fluttering up behind her with her incredibly quiet butterfly wings. If it wasn't for Kyu's own quick reflexes and a lightning-fast backwards wingbeat, she'd have been in a world of hurt. "...  _Dayum_  girl! Calm the fuck down!" Slowly lowering her hands, the almost-kicked nymphomaniac backed away from the startled woman.

"... sorry." Tala muttered, pulling herself out of the box, rubbing the back of her neck. "Forgot someone else was here." It was half from startlement and half out of trained reflex, but the action was all the same.

"Yeah, no shit! If you'd have actually hit me, I'd have  _totally_  made you my bitch."

Tala's nervousness came to an abrupt halt. "Is that right?" she indignantly questioned, resting her hands on her hips, stepping up to the love fairy. "I'm curious as to how you'll go about doing that, Miss Kyu."

But the love fairy just grinned with a half-lidded expression as she floated up to the larger woman so they could see eye to eye. "Try it and find out, Nariko. And that ought to be  _Mistress_  Kyu." It was game on, and her mischievous grin, coupled with that heavy implication and sultry voice, told the targeted audience well where this was going.

"Tempting, but I'll pass on that challenge. For your sake." the ginger declined, resting her hands on her hips. "You haven't the  _slightest_  idea who you're talking to," Tala stated, pushing her pink companion away by the forehead with a single digit.

"That so?" Kyu inquired, resting a pondering finger to her cheek. "I'll have to look into that..." But before the two-way challenge could proceed any further, the moment was ruined when the love fairy caved in on her impish expression to burst into a fit of laughter, leaving an awfully confused Tala. "Ahahahaha! Holy shit!" For a moment, Tala thought she did something wrong. "We have got...  _got_  to roleplay some BDSM soon!" She returned to her guffaw, slapping a hand on the amazon's shoulder while giving a reassuring gesture. "I, I promise I'll give you a safeword," she managed to say between chortles.

"You say that like I'm interested." Tala muttered, slowly and cautiously removing Kyu's hand from her shoulder as if it carried a disease.

"I'm not questioning your tastes or anything!" Kyu was shameless upon shameless about sexuality, but Tala had to remind herself just who she was talking to.

"That's  _not_  my taste."

"Hell yeah it is! You got defensive as  _fuck_  when I poked fun at dominating you!"

"So what _is_  my taste, if you're such an expert?" Tala continued, half out of challenge, half out of curiosity. She figured Kyu could read people like an open book, being a love fairy, but a little insight from out of the box never hurt.

Needless to say, Kyu's advice mode was activated, softer voice and all. "You're a passionate piece of work, and the truth is, you're a _total_  slave to your emotions once people know which buttons to push. People who can get a rise out of you are the ones you'll want to fuck from dusk till dawn. If they can do it, you become  _infatuated_. Like, 'I worship your body' infatuated. Without a Huniebee, I can already tell you  _looove_  talent."

"An interesting way to put it..." Tala surmised, pondering the explanation. She's been contemplating her own most desired affection herself.

"Honey, I'm a fuckmothering love fairy. If I wanted to, I could play you like a fiddle. And apparently, I don't even have to try! That sure as hell ain't candy I smell!" the love fairy exclaimed, which ushered a blush and a pout from the large woman. With a friendly giggle, Kyu calmed down, resting a comforting hand on her companion's shoulder. "Tal, you like interesting people.  _And_  you like it when people talk dirty. What makes them interesting to be around is what turns you on. Well, that and them just being sexy. You know I'm right."

Tala scoffed. "You make me sound like a horny toad that screws everyone that so much as talk to me."

Kyu rolled her spring green eyes with a smirk. "Think about it, you sexy thing you; I'm sure if I asked you what was  _so_  interesting about that sexy Japanese professor or that cute little Barista, you'd tell me while trying not to jizz yourself-"

"Stop. It."

"... and let's face it, those girls got a  _lot_  more than looks goin' on. And your magnetic personality just makes it  _too_  easy ta git down." Tala played the details over and over in her head, and applied it to any encounter she could remember. Kyu's explanation fit rather perfectly, to say the least. Even if a girl, or guy, is the sexiest person Tala's ever seen, if there's nothing to them other than looks, then Tala wouldn't even give them a second glance. When she was talking with Aiko yesterday , the ginger had been enthralled by the sexy teacher and her plight. So much so that the amazon offered to substitute in class for a stranger and try a bold move, and the more she thought about it, and the more they talked, the more interesting Aiko was to her. She wanted to bring out more of what made Aiko so fun to be around, whether it be her implied sexual prowess, her luscious body and beautiful face, or just her friendly and fun persona, and thinking about the woman now, she just wanted to see her again. And Nikki wasn't anything to sneeze at either. Despite her boredom and her introverted persona, Tala just knew there was more to the girl. And she was really cute with that blue hair and those sizable breasts hidden under that loose-fitting sweater.

"Wow." It all came crashing down on her with a nod of realization. "I am such a horndog..." She honestly didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The love fairy just shrugged her shoulders. "But in a good way, right? Yeah, I know. I'm the best at what I do." The gesture was nonchalant, but the smile she had was as genuine as can be.

"I'll keep that in mind when I need advice."

"Door's always open. Now go fuck a hot fitness chick!" Rolling her eyes, Tala grabbed her running bag and was on her way out the door.

XXXXX

The fitness Club looked like a really decent place. Clean, bright floorboards, unscarred by the heavy weights and machines, neatly lined racks of well-organized weights, unblemished benches racked with forty-five pound bars just ripe for abuse, and even a locker room and showers, but with the lack of a lock on her person, she opted to keep her bag with her.

The compression shirt she was wearing hugged her voluptuous curves as her thick sweatpants accented her hips, and the overall chatter of the fitness club went down a little as she made her way to the front desk. Tala didn't really mind being stared at, she often admired herself if there were a full-body mirror nearby, not to mention a muscular, six-foot woman wasn't an everyday occurrence, and here at the gym, trading tips on how to get a sexy body was was a common subject of discussion, and that started with seeing them.

Tala already had a light sheen of sweat from the five minute jog here, and so right after buying a membership from the cute blonde at the front desk, Tala went on to stretch for an upper-body workout. First her arms, then her core, then her legs. Pulling herself up from a perfect split, the amazonian gave the place a once-over until her eyes landed on an elevated set of monkey bars, which were mostly two exercise machines joined by an array of parallel bars.

She had just gotten to forty when... "Wow! I can't even do that much on a good day!" Tala looked over her shoulder to see a curvy, fair-skinned brunette beauty taking a break on one of the machines, downing what was left in her water bottle.

Tala smirked, finishing her set with renewed vigor before dropping back down to meet her. "Pull-ups aren't that hard if you have a strong core." she reasoned, stretching her arms again. She gave Kyanna a good once-over, careful not to let her gaze linger on the girl's assets -double D no doubt- before she gave an encouraging smile. "What's your record?"

Kyanna herself was trying her best not to ogle the amazon's unbelievable bosom. "T-thirty two. You?"

"Uhhh... a lot." It was all in good fun that they both found one another checking the other out. "Um... a hundred and ninety-one before I fell off the bar."

 _But_  it wasn't a bad thing as Tala heard Kyanna's cute, good-natured giggle. "Aw shoot. Really? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you!" Kyanna had no reason to doubt this giant woman's ability, especially with those arms and those shoulders definitely looking like they could play the part. She could make out the raw definition failing to remain hidden under her sleeves.

For Tala, the girl's sheer energy was more than enough to kick her cautions to the wind and actually enjoy talking. "I'm not exaggerating when I say even  _these_  arms were jelly afterwards." Tala flexed one of those built, toned arms, and every booming muscle in her tricep made themselves known.

Kyanna grinned, cupping her chin as she analyzed the stocky woman's display. "I bet! Maxing isn't for the faint of heart."

"Very true." Tala smiled, approaching the girl with an extended hand. "I'm Tala. Tala Stone." It'd be such a waste to not get to know this girl.

The bronze-skinned babe accepted the gesture with a friendly smile of her own. "Kyanna Delrio! Will I be seeing you here again?"

The ginger shrugged, leaning against a machine. "I don't see why not. Second day in town and I'll already have an exercise buddy."

Kyanna giggled again, a sound Tala could definitely get used to. "I don't mind!  _My_  only worry is that you're several  _leagues_  above me."

"I can't see why what would get in the way of us just being friends. But on that note, what do you like to do  _outside_  of the fitness club?" Not only did this hot fitness beauty have an immaculate body and a... couple of 'personalities' that she couldn't take her eyes off of, but she had such an aura around her, Tala felt _lifted_  just being around her. It'd be a shame to not at least get to know her better.

"Well, when I'm not working at the salon or taking care of the little guy, not much, to be honest. Can't really count running or hiking since, you know."

"Actually, that's perfectly fine. What do you think someone like  _me_  does in their spare time?"

Kyanna grinned. "Good point. I usually like to go around and relax with my son Phil and Tiffany after a hard day's work. Otherwise, I just head home and spend more time with just the little man."

"Well, I wouldn't want to intrude upon time spent with your boy. I'll be at the market getting food for home, this evening. I still have a laundry list of things to do to settle in."

"Oh, I know how that is. As soon as my mom knew I was having Philip, I was on my own."

"I imagine you had good friends to help you through it?"

"Oh, totally! I don't even think I'd  _be_  here if it wasn't for Tiffany!"

Tala grinned. "I like her already."

Kyanna nodded with a smile that could cure. "She does have that effect on people. Wanna meet her after here? I just got a few more sets to jam out and a wind-down jog."

"I'd like that." Returning to their exercises, Tala and Kyanna continued the whole time. Future plans, past experiences with babies, their mothers, the two just found subject after subject to talk about. Tala paid no mind at the Mexican beauty checking her out every now and then as they talked, especially when the redhead was doing a particularly demanding exercise, like the bench-press or squats. Whether it be the definition of those arms through that compression shirt or the voluptuous curve of that beefy behind every time she went down, Kyanna was enthralled by this epitome of feminine physique. But that's not to say that Tlala herself was doing the same, admiring the pretty lady's immaculate body and the light sheen of sweat on her flawless skin. They both knew the other was checking them out, and the flirting was inevitable.

It was hilarious to see Kyanna, along with some of the other patrons, gawking at her as she benched sets exceeding two hundred pounds. "Don't worry. I'm not  _this_  beefy when I'm out of the gym." Tala's assuring words were in playful manner as she rose from the bench press, removing her gloves, massaging her sweaty palms.

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" Kyanna guaranteed, throwing her hands up after putting down her thirty-pound dumbbells. "I  _like_  what I see."

"You're quite a sight yourself. Lost focus a few times." the ginger added, rising from the bench and proceeding to strip the bar.

"Glad you think so. Hey, speaking of sights, you ever do yoga?"

"As a matter of fact, I have." Tala affirmed as the last forty-five went back on the rack. "Good for the muscles."

"Then you'll  _love_  the classes they teach here. The instructor here is  _awesome_."

"If she's half as fun to talk to as you, I'll definitely give it some thought."

"Cool! Imma go hit the treadmill and then hit the showers. Tiff'll be at the park at about three. You'll be able to make it?"

"I can make it at two-thirty."

"Even better! See ya then!"

XXXXX

"... Yeah... We're at the park... You met someone at the gym?... Oh!... Oh, now I've  _got_  to see her!... Oh cool, I can't wait! We'll see ya then!" Tiffany ended the call and looked back at the babe and bent down over him, tickling his pudgy little stomach with a single digit. "You hear that, Phily? Mommy's made a new friend!" All the boy could do was laugh his cute little laugh and flail about at Tiffany tickling him right at the bellybutton.

Giggling herself, the blonde stood back up and proceeded to roll his stroller over to a nearby bench where she unstrapped and picked up little Phil and cradled him in her arms. "Now, where were we?" she asked inquisitively, peering down at him with a raised brow. "Oh yes..." Without a moment to lose, Tiffany resumed her tickle treatment, much to the little guy's delight.


	3. Welcoming: A Girly Girl & Kinky Teacher

Tiffany was nice.

She was lively, approachable, and deceptively smart, and far from any kind of stereotype her talent for cheerleading and girly girl vibes would lead one to believe. A neigh perfect balance between lively and studious. When Kyanna sat down with her son on the shady park bench, that gave the amazon and the cheerleader ample time to talk, and the subject quickly shifted to the university and its resident sexy professor.

"Oh, Aiko? I've met her just yesterday. I like her already." There was a pleasantly content tone when Tala admitted that.

"Yeah? She's the life of the party when she's not up to her knees in schoolwork." It was the truth, both of them were aware. But over time, it became abundantly clear to Tiffany that Miss Yumi didn't like her job as much as before. What used to be just tired days and lengthy breaks eventually devolved into missing work and lateness to her own class. It as disheartening, to say the least.

"I figured. We went to the cafe for a break, and we couldn't stop talking after that. Most of what we talked about was her lamenting her job at the school. But since you're a student of hers, at least one of us should inform you of her future plan."

Tiffany quirked an interested brow. "Really? What's goin' on?"

Tala leaned back on the bench, straightening her legs, making herself comfortable. "When the subject came up, I offered to do some justice and stand in for her, give her time and space to find a different job."

"Well... I figured she wasn't exactly... happy with her job, Miss Stone-"

The amazon raised an assuring hand. "Just Tala."

"-Miss Tala." That got her an expectant look. "Tala... but I never thought she'd just up and leave."

"Well, a silver bullet to your problems don't come along every day. You can tell she wanted this for a long time. But we've considered Tuesday, after she grades the exams." So Tala proceeded to give Tiffany the full rundown of her and Aiko's plan to get the Japanese beauty out of teaching and into an occupation she'd want. While she's out job hunting, Tala would be filling in for her, and the pay would be split between the two so Aiko wouldn't have to worry about going broke. But while they were on the subject of schooling, there came an important question.

"Does she grade all by herself?" It was a legitimate question, given the circumstances. If Aiko was feeling crushed under the weight, she certainly was not getting any help from the other staff.

"Well, she grades most of the big assignments with our friend Nikki, since most of the other teachers don't really take her seriously." It wasn't difficult to imagine why, considering Aiko was way too good-looking to be a teacher anywhere. Whether it be jealousy, misogynists, or just judging a book by its cover, there was hardly an instance Tiffany remembered where Miss Yumi even communicated with the other staff, much less got legitimate help.

"Nikki..." Pursed lips were synonymous with pondering. "... AnnMarie?"

The blonde nodded with a jubilant grin. "The very same. You know her too?"

"We managed to get acquainted yesterday at the cafe following Aiko's departure back to the university, but she wasn't one for conversation."

Tiffany shrugged, but nodded nonetheless with an apologetic smile. "Yeah, she can be kinda hard to approach."

Tala gave an undaunted shrug. "A nice girl, once we managed to get past hellos. But back to grading, I'll could use some help once Aiko is gone. Maybe we could all meet up later and talk about it? I've got Aiko's number, and going from what you said, I'm pretty sure she has Nikki's."

"Yeah, okay! Sounds good."

"Cool. But I gotta make a stop first."

XXXXX

Aiko and Nikki were hard at work.

Skim the page, mark the wrong answers, tally the score, repeat. By now, it was like clockwork for the two. However, despite the fact that Aiko had been doing this for several years, the Japanese teacher was still flabbergasted at the sheer speed and efficiency at which Nikki got the work done. She was like a well-oiled machine whenever she picked up a pen. By the time Aiko had finished grading all the multiple-choice, the bluenette had finished all the essays and even provided insight on how that student could improve. Even the mighty Tiffany.

"Hey Nik, you considered making this a part-time gig?" Aiko had set her freshly graded Audrey D- aside, and rested her chin on her interlaced hands.

Nikki shifted her gaze up at the professor, nose still hovering over the few remaining papers that had yet to be graded under her scrutinizing eye. "What, grading? Uh... no?" It was a rather peculiar question to ask, but taking note of Aiko's eyes on her, her own eyes shifted back and forth, nervousness slowly beginning to set in. There was more. "Uhh, is something happening?"

Miss Yumi nodded, slouching back in her chair. "You can say that. I got a friend who offered to do me a solid and sit in at the university till I switch to a job I'm not sick of. You'd be down with helping out?"

It was the first part that caught Nikki off guard. "Wait. You're quitting your job at the university?"

Aiko crossed her arms. "Fuck yeah, Nik! Been trying to for years!"

"What stopped you from leaving earlier?" Even just spending most of her time with Aiko grading papers, the highschool graduate genius very well knew of Miss Yumi's gradually growing but surefire contempt for her job. And frankly, she couldn't blame her. Dumb teens and young adults in college were just as dumb as teens and young adults at night clubs. They were one and the same, mostly.

"Well, I gotta be the one to hire a sub if I still wanna get paid over that time. I gotta stay afloat, and I don't know how long I'll last between jobs. Especially with the casino nearby." That last part was uttered with a grin.

"So who's the sub?"

"A good friend I met a little while ago-" Aiko's thoughts on how to carefully tell Nikki about a certain recent contact was interrupted by the digital recording of Japanese wind-chimes. Quickly whipping out her phone, Aiko checked the caller ID and put her iphone to her ear. "Heeey Tiffany. What's up?"

"Good afternoon, Miss Yumi! Whatcha up to?" Aiko couldn't tell if she loved the energetic, bubbly voice nor or hated it.

"Grading with Nik at my place. The usual." It would make sense that a student as eager and motivated as Tiffany Maye would be interested in what teachers do after hours. In a good way.

"Oh cool! I just got through talkin' with Miss Tala."

That entailed she knew a thing or two. "You met Tal? I tell ya, that woman certainly has a way of getting around..." Meet a girl one day, another the next. _'That sly devil...'_ "Getting along, I hope?"

"Yeah, definitely! She told me about what she'll be doing at the college. It'll be pretty sad to see you go..."

_'Oh don't gimme that crap, Tiff...'_  Aiko rolled her eyes. "Aw, don't go all sappy on me, Tiff. I ain't goin' nowhere so long as the casino's in business." Both audiences knew  _that_  was the truth.

"Yeah I figured as much... But hey! Miss Tala and I were wondering if we could meet up with you and Nikki somewhere. You know, plan ahead a little bit."

Aiko looked to Nikki, who overheard the conversation, and receiving a shrug from the bluenette, she shifted her attention back to her cellphone. "Sure, sounds good. We're at my place. I ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon..." she grumbled, picking up another unmarked paper, grimacing at the stack she still had left.

"Okay great! We'll see you in a couple hours! Bye!"

Aiko killed the call, and picking her mood back up, she grinned at her phone. "A couple hours, eh? You work fast, Tal."

Nikki looked up from her work, squinting her eyes. "Come again?"

 

XXXXX

Aiko opened the door, and was greeted by the cheerful wave of Tiffany. "Hey Aiko!" 

"A couple hours, eh?" The professor prodded with a suave grin as she stepped aside to let them in. 

Tiffany's cheeks grew beet red, raising her hands in denial. "I-It's not like that, Miss Yumi! Promise!"

Tala, on the other hand, leered over her shoulder with a grin of her own. "Not yet, Ai. Had to pick up my ride from the dealership. Expand my uh... sphere of influence." She did send a kind smile and wave Nikki's way, at which the bluenette blushed and awkwardly waved back.

"Shit Tal," Aiko spoke up with the widest grin those red lips could muster. "On foot, you talked to four girls in two days. In a car, you'll have taken over the town within a month, eh?" Tiffany, who remained quiet since the greeting, stifled a giggle. But such a claim did give everyone present food for thought.

Tala shrugged her hands with a sheepish grin. "Hey, I can't help it if Glenberry's giving me such a warm welcome."

"Can you blame?"

"Not at all. But there's still one I'm hard-pressed on befriending." Tala reasoned before setting her sights again on Nikki. "I'm guessing you're in a better mood now, Miss AnnMarie?"

The nerd girl's blush, whether it came from all eyes on her or just Tala's, was intense, nonetheless. "Uhh... I guess..."

Recalling their conversation from earlier, Aiko took the opportunity to give her nerdy friend the the 'help' she was in dire need of. "C'mon, Nik! Live a little! If you let  _this_  one get away, I will lose all respect for you!"

Before the bluenette could sputter out a defense, Tala reassured her with a large hand on her daintily exposed shoulder. "Now now, the last thing we want is to put pressure on anyone, Ai. But on the topic of pressure, I say we get this whole subbing business sorted out, 'kay?"

"Can't argue with that." Aiko relented in agreement as she grabbed a sheet of paper and slid it over to Tala. "This is the contract you and the dean gotta sign. But with tits like those, you don't even gotta try."

Picking up the contract, Tala began skimming it over. "I bet..."


	4. Welcoming: Enter the Mega-Bitch

"Yeah, they like you, Tal." Aiko mused as she and the amazon in question walked the hallways of UOG.

One could practically make out the steam coming off of Tala's forehead. She cast her Japanese friend a frustrated glare. "You think?! I'm used to the looks, but the part that kills me is his piss-poor job of trying to hide it! You're gonna throw on your sunglasses mid-conversation? Really?" the redhead exclaimed, throwing her arms out in an exasperation. "What a fake! If you're a pervert, just be a pervert!"

Aiko leered over at her companion, ready to burst into tears. "You wanna word that differently, Tal?"

"If you're gonna be one, just own it! But don't pretend! I can't stand fake ass people!" Ever since Aiko gave her a crash course on why exactly the dean would be so easy to persuade, everything in their conversation from how available he would be to talk to to him 'offering' his assistance came up. Tala didn't mind that he was smitten with sexy women -she was herself- but his little orientation was laced with under-handed attempts to get close enough to smooch her.

"You sound _just_ like one of my students."

Tala's aggravation died down a bit, her interest piqued. "Who would that be?"

"One with a fire in her belly, that's for sure."

The amazon grinned. "Something tells me we'll get along great."

Aiko raised a finger, breath fully inhaled to reply to that, but she relented, shaking her head. "It'll be a clash of the titans." Two redheads. Two fires. When the world burns once they collide, she'll be sure to secure herself a front row seat. "You'll just have to meet her yourself."

"I'm getting a little excited. Now you _gotta_ tell me."

"Nah-ah-ah, I ain't spoiling the fun."

"Awwww, please? _Pretty please_ with a cherry on top?" Tala leaned in, whispering the sultry venom into her friend's ear. Her powerful hands found their way onto Aiko's waist, rubbing down below her jacket, then back up under the green fabric, her fingertips tickling the lip of her croptop.

Aiko purred like a kitten, goosebumps rising over her smooth skin as Tala's voice and touch violated her. They were exposed, out in the open, any corner possibly hiding a stray set of eyes and insurmountable trouble for the both of them. But before she caved into temptation and took this to the next level, she relented, falling back next to Tal. "So T, you got the dress code figured out?"

Tala pursed her lips at the ultimately failed attempt, but relented all the same. At least she's starting to get a grasp on, Miss Yumi's buttons. "No tanks, denim jeans, or boots. And I'm not wearing that teacher's uniform they 'recommended'. How about slacks?" It wasn't in Tala's interest to stray from something simple like a top and jeans, but the more she imagined herself in some form-fitting formal attire, the more appealing the look became to her. It just needs to be comfortable...

Aiko apparently had the same thoughts in mind as she looked the redhead up and down like an eager tongue along the length of a popsicle. "I'd have said pencil skirt." A huge, hugged ass, tight chest, and a bun? "I say you should throw in some glasses with that. But I won't complain if you take the dean up on wearing that outfit."

"Okay Aiko, bring it down a notch." Tala wondered what she'd look like in a pencil skirt, but soon dropped that image in a shredder.

"Some slacks will hug that toned ass of yours just fine." Aiko hung back somewhat to admire Tala's superior posterior from just the right angle as the amazon led their way up the stairs, admiring every flex of the muscle and swing of the hips. "Rrrawr!"

"Eyes forward, Miss Yumi." Tala mimicked in her best strict nanny-teacher voice.

"Yes,  _Mistress Stone_."

"Keep up that attitude, and you just might be calling me that." Despite the back-and-forth shameless banter that the two had grown quite accustomed to exchanging since they met just days ago, there were definite signs of sexual tension brewing between them. What was harmless, but nonetheless bold ribbing at each other for shits and giggles eventually turned into idle coaxing on both their parts. And it didn't take long at all to fester.

Aiko could only imagine what those bodacious tits or that rock-hard ass felt like bare. "Shit T, you're turning me on..."

Tala, from Aiko's mocking little moans to her loaded language, let her thoughts wander uncontrollably every time she heard it. "Keep working your magic Ai, and we'll  _have_  to hook up."

XXXXX

"Kyanna. I never thought formal-wear suited you." But it made sense that someone as fashion-focused as Kyanna could be found in a high-end clothing store dedicated to looking good and keeping up with what's 'in' like La Chic Boutique. But to see her favorite Latina ear-ring-while-exercising bro girl in a pencil skirt and blazer threw the amazon for a loop. Must be a special occasion.

Needless to say, Kyanna beamed when she turned around and saw who it was. "Oh, hey Tal!" she greeted with an energetic wave as she scampered over to her exercise buddy. "I gotta find something a little formal for a commercial guest spot I have in a couple days. You like?"

Tala grinned, eyeing the look up and down. Kyanna's body makes her look good in just about anything, but the brown skirt with the yellow blazer really boughtout the Latina look. " _Like_  is putting it mildly..." It took considerable willpower just to look a little further up. "So where's Phil? With grandma?"

Kyanna rolled her lavender eyes. "Oh, nope! Tiffany offered to babysit while I'm out running errands. But Mom is  _hellbent_  on seeing him. She blows up my phone like every day. And she's just gonna spoil him!"

 _'Far be it from me to intervene when a kid's involved.'_ Tala wasn't a stranger to helping out in family matters, but the line is drawn before bebes came in. "Far be it from to stick my nose there. But a mother knows best."

"Awww, you're not helping!"

Tala smirked. "I said mother, not grandmother."

"Awww, that's sweet!" Kyanna gushed, and Tala felt the world become just a big brighter.

But the amazon just shrugged, offering a hearty pat on the back. "Hey, power to ya, Ky."

Kyanna brightened right back up. "I can do that, no prob!" But having had her fill of talking about motherhood, the subject was changed "So, how'd the conference with the girls go? Tiffany told me you got everything sorted out."

"Just fine. I start on Tuesday. Now, I just need to do a little shopping of my own."

"Yeah?"

Tala nodded, tugging on the collar of her shirt. "Can't just wear this."

"Aw, but you look good in it!" Even with a plaid button-up and loose navy blue jeans, Kyanna could make out those wide hips and meaty thighs just crying out for attention. Tala had a body that a fitness chick like Kyanna would be all over, tongue and all, but fuck-all if she knew how to show it off. When the giant woman was at the gym in sweatpants,  _everything_  below the belt was left to the imagination. "Well, it is a little rugged."

"I don't know if you know this Kyanna, but _I'm_  a little rugged." The point was driven home when the tall ginger motioned to her face, from her lack of make-up to her unpierced ears to her naturally flowing hair. Kyanna was staring into the eyes of an amazon. "But..." she shrugged, plopping her hands at her sides. "It just won't do. I gotta look  _spiffy_  for class on Tuesday."

Kyanna took all of her in, but dainty hands found their way to her delightfully curvy hips as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, wearing a grin like she'd beat a bodybuilder in arm wrestle. "Are you asking for my help?"

 _'Guilty as charged.'_  The rugged beauty shrugged her monolithic shoulders once more. "I... guess I am."

"On one condition."

"Um... okay?"

"Next time you're at the gym, bring some shorts. Some  _short_  shorts."

XXXXX

After Kyanna so graciously offered her services in finding Tala some quality formal-wear, the two, mostly the former though, found Tala a good handful of classy outfits to wear.

But as the giant woman stepped out of the changing room in her socks, scanning the floors for her boots, she soon looked up to see an innocent-looking Kyanna with two large, heavy boots behind her back. Tilting her head, Tala rested her large hands on her hips. "Do I have to beg?"

"I have no idea what you're talking abou- Hey!" the busty Latina cried, stepping back as she saw one of those hands go for her chest.

Tala feigned innocence as well. "What? I was reaching for my boots!"

Kyanna stuck her tong out at her shopping buddy, but relinquished her hold on the heavy duty footwear. "This isn't the time or the place, Tal."

Taking her boots back, the Irishwoman smirked. "Well, for helping me with this -and we all know I needed it- I'll have to thank you. So what  _is_  the perfect time and place for our... shenanigans?"

"How about... my place next weekend? I can ask Tiffany to look after the little guy."

"It's a date." But before she leaned down to start putting her boots back on, a speck of red caught her eye. "Hey, who's that?"

Kyanna followed her gaze, and her face immediately went pale. "Oh, someone you do  _not_  wanna meet. Trust me on this one."

The two were looking over to the cash register of the establishment, seeing a small redhead lash out with a running stream of loaded French towards the cashier, poor guy scared like a cornered animal, and that was all the confirmation the larger ginger needed. "Oh, a feisty one..." she assessed. "Girls like that, we classify as a 'mega bitch'. So says some old friends of mine."

"Accurate..." Kyanna assessed with an agreeable nod.

Before Tala could question her checkered history with this individual, said individual had them in her sights.

"Hey! There you are!" It seemed that since the psycho chick was already riled up, she sought out another victim for her undoubtedly not-safe-for-children rants. But upon being seen by the mega-bitch, Kyanna looked about ready to pick up a gun. To the attitudinal girl's head or her own, Tala couldn't tell. But trouble came with the fiery one's tempered stride like a charging bull. "You got some fucking nerve showing your whore face around here!"

Tala winced.

"Imma have you know that I'm not at my job right now, so if you wanna go Audrey, we can take it outside." By now, Tala knew that Kyanna wasn't the violent type. On the outset, Kyanna didn't have a mean bone in her body. But given the circumstances, the Latina was backed into a corner. Apparently, her simply existing made her a target in the crazed girl's crosshairs.

"As if! If you fight as good as you do hair or dress, bitch, I'll lay you out!" Tala questioned why she didn't intervene by now, whether it was because she was too enthralled by the exchange, or because she wanted to see Kyanna's version of swift justice. But so long as it didn't come to blows, she'd let the adults say the adult things. Besides, it sounded an awful lot like this occurs often.

"Fucker, if you didn't smell like death and decay, maybe I'd do a better job at cutting your nasty fucking hair!" Tala felt no small bit of unease when she heard Kyanna swear. "And if you  _had_  a job, maybe you'd wear something other than that stupid-ass dress!"

 _'Ohhh...'_  Insulting a rich girl's clothes was nothing short of an open declaration of war. Tala almost anticipated it to get physical right there, and when the two stepped up toe to toe, faces inches apart, Tala saw enough. "Okay okay, there's no need for that." The feminine tower of power moved forward to take her place between the two, placing a reassuring hand on Kyanna's shoulder, but opting to keep the little red devil at bay with a halting hand.

But unlike the fitness chick, Audrey had no intentions of slowing down. "Who the fuck are you? Her dad with those ugly ass boots and that bland ass shirt?" Now it was Kyanna's turn to take a back seat and watch the scene unfold. Seeing Tala's emerald gaze stare down at the little bitch in contempt, she knew she'd enjoy the next few moments. _'You did it now, sister.'_ This was a day Kyanna waited probably years for; to see Audrey Belrose's mouth write a check her ass couldn't possibly cash. She off-handedly glanced outside at the food court to see if they were selling popcorn. She might need some.

Tala weighed her options, and training from her job clashed with teachings from the love fairies. But only one would really work with a lost cause like Audrey. "No, I'm her friend. The one with ugly ass boots that'll be halfway up your snobby ass if you don't turn around and leave."

But a simple threat wasn't enough for Audrey. "Oh, you're gonna 'hit' me? Put your man hands on me like you did when you knocked up your little whore?"

That struck nerves. Many nerves. Still though, Tala stayed level-headed. And Kyanna as well, seeing the amazon's next act of intimidation. With her strong hand darting forward, she caught the little she-devil by her ribbon collar, and jerking her close, Audrey's feet left the ground. "Say another word and find out."

But before Tala could set her down and let the little chihuahua scurry away, said chihuahua was already on the counteroffensive, and with her dangling feet level to the giant's shins, she began her assault with her thick-toed high-heels.

"Ow!" For a split second, Tala felt like her leg had just roundhouse kicked a pole. But in the pain that shot through her right leg, Tala dropped the little red bundle of pain and misery who capitalized on it.

With a scream reminiscent of harpies, Audrey raised the sharp heel of her stiletto and bought it down on Tala's forward foot. If the kick to the shin was like a geyser of pain, then the stiletto heel to the foot was a volcano. Tala immediately withdrew her offending foot, taking it out from under Audrey, who intended to drive it through like a stake. The feisty little chihuahua was taken by surprise as she lost her footing, and an enraged Tala sent her on her way with a hand to her midsection. While Audrey caught herself on a clothing rack that cushioned her fly backwards, Tala limped to a neighboring one to support herself. Her right leg felt like a bat was taken to it, and her left foot felt like it was hit with a pickax. Audrey, meanwhile, dusted herself off, stuck her tongue out, and departed the scene with the knowledge she got out of the ordeal unscathed with her towering opponent not so lucky.

Kyanna was about to give chase, but a hand from the wounded Irishwoman stopped her. "What? Why?"

"Just let it go." When she had Audrey by the collar, her eyes the size of dinnerplates, that twat knew she fucked up. And after the scuffle was over, she looked grateful she wasn't splattered all over the side of the store. But still... "Fuck! My foot!"

With Audrey out of sight, and out of mind hopefully soon, Tala reared her attention to her foot, which had already looked blown up like a balloon. Lowering herself to the ground, she slipped her sock off, and bore witness to the aftermath of her struggle with the she-devil. It looked like somebody planted a golfball in her foot. "Jesus, was that a stiletto?!"

Kyanna cringed, wanting to rest her own foot from seeing that. "Ohhh, she got you good. Imma go hit the food court, ese. I'll be back with some ice, okay?"

As Kyanna ran off, Tala reminisced on what happened. Despite all that happened, despite the white hot pain in her foot, Tala had to admit she admired the feisty little girl's audacity. No doubt about it, there was a definite fire in her little belly.  _'Yup, she's the one.'_


	5. Welcoming: Spa night with Mamacita

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, reading over the beginning of this story again, it makes me squirm. Considering the story itself is just over two years old, I've definitely improved since I started. 
> 
> But! Chapter 5 and on is where we start to pick up traction. Stuff starts happening.

After the paperwork was in and Tala showed up for her first day as the new teacher, how this would turn out was purely a roll of the die.

Part of Tala envisioned a traditional highschool setup with a square-shaped room and rows of desks and chairs with wall-sized windows for the students to distractedly stare out of. And for the most part, she was right on the money. But instead of green chalkboards like she fondly remembered, there were whiteboards along the front and the side of the classroom, complete with markers and dry erasers.

All the dead ringers of your token university were there, complete with a nearby park and dorms, but despite Aiko's in-depth description of her rowdy bunch of kids, this place was surprisingly well-kept, much like the rest of Glenberry. The tiled floors barely had so much as a scratch, the whiteboards were pristine and devoid of even a single blemish, and even the desks looked like they hadn't endured the wrath of student boredom for long.

Tala recalled her own experiences in college, and this was a far cleaner establishment than anything she herself went to. She grinned in fond memory. _'Monsters, all of them.'_

But while introducing herself to three different classes, Tala gave them all the straight and forward run-down.

"Morning, all. I'm Miss Stone. I'll keep this brief. You need to learn the stuff, and I need to teach it. Meet me halfway, and I'll try to do more than throw packets and tests your way. I don't know how long I'll be here, but if it means getting you a step closer to getting a degree, then I'll do my best. But before we ask questions, let me take roll."

This was the start to many relationships.

For the most part, student reaction to her presence went along a spectrum of apathy to keen interest. Aiko's classes were first year pre-requisite courses, so for most of the students, as long as there was a warm body up front to pass around handouts and read from the textbook, they were happy to show up and tune out. Some murmured to their neighbours about the new prof - debating whether they'd suddenly inherited a hard-ass who would mark them severely, or a lightweight who would ensure them an easy 'A'. Tala noted a certain group of young men who whispered excitedly at the back of the class, and she wasn't so naive as to think they were discussing her ample resume.

From the front row, Tiffany gave a friendly wave when her name was called, and Tala nodded back curtly, pleased to know she had at least one student she could rely on for honest help. She continued reading from her list -reverse alphabetical order to keep everyone on their toes-, and a certain name at the top of her list made her eyes raise with keen interest.

"Belrose. Audrey Belrose?"

It was at that precise moment that a certain foul-mouthed redhead barged into the classroom, irritable and hiding her hungover eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses. "Yeah, I'm late, Miss Yumi. So sue m-"

Redhead and redhead met one another's eyes. Audrey whipped off her sunglasses to make sure she wasn't seeing some trick of the light. "You again? What the _fuck_ are you doing here?"

"What's the deal with them?"

"I heard Audrey fought some chick at the mall. That must be her!"

"She fought  _her_? Bravo, Belrose!"

"Heard she scored a good hit!"

While murmurs and whispers began to spread amongst the students, Tiffany not withstanding, Tala was still wrapping her mind around the implications of this predicament. "Apparently, I'm your nightmare."

That just begged a retort from the feisty one. "As if! I fucked you _up_ at the mall!"

 _'Gods, give me the strength of patience today...'_ "Not what I recall. Last I remembered, you were about to meet the floor when you ticked off your hairdresser until I stepped in. You're welcome. Now take a seat.  _Now_." That last word had a certain force behind it that a six-foot amazon like herself could aptly supplement.

It was enough for Audrey, as she rolled her eyes and took her spot at the back where she immediately began none-too-subtly chatting it up with her tan-skinned friend dressed in a flannel. Tala, who had took a seat to double-check the attendance, gritted her teeth and peered at the two over her shoulder. "Audrey, Nora, I'd appreciate it if you paid attention. Get enough zeros in your classes, and you'll be limping your way to your tests." Whereas the tomboy raised her hands in resignation, Audrey muttered a 'Fuck you' under her breath, but went silent.

Tala knew immediately that this was war, and she'd be at the disadvantage on this battlefield. But it was an interesting thought to entertain and see what became of it. If not to see how far she could push the she-devil's limits, then to see how far said she-devil will go to push hers. If she can make this bitchy little chihuahua heel, then she'd have done her job with flying colors. _'But speaking of teaching...'_

Sighing, the amazonian teacher returned to her clipboard and soundly check off the box next to Belrose. "That's everyone. Now let's get started." _'If it's any consolation Belrose, stepping on my foot with that stiletto heel hurt like hell.'_

XXXXX

Tala quickly discovered that Audrey Belrose, who had among the lowest test scores in the class, wielded a grade-A proficiency in a different subject: how to hold a grudge. By the end of their first day, the hot-tempered fashionista had deduced that the new "Miss Stone" was limited to verbal lashings (tame ones at that) in her role as teacher. The Amazonian brute who'd terrorized her at the mall now had both hands tied behind her back, and from Tuesday onward, Audrey made it her mission to irritate the substitute in every possible way.

Arriving late and slamming the door. Shuffling in her seat so that the chair legs squeaked across the floor. Plugging in her headphones and cranking the volume until Tala's ears winced at the shrill pop songs. Sneaking in bags of candy and crinkling the plastic wrap at the most inopportune times. Naturally, the little devil played dumb every time Tala called her out. "Hmm? It wasn't me, Miss Stoner." "Oops, my bad, Miss Stoner."

It simply wouldn't do anything to give her zero after zero since her inability to pay attention didn't come from the work, and the administrative part of the course wasn't any easier. Aiko had marked all of the midterm exams, but there was a mountain of practical lab reports to be graded. After classes, Tala would take a stack to the Nutmeg cafe, where Aiko's assistant marker, Nikki, would try and coach Tala through the grading process. It was a challenge, to say the least, complicated at every step thanks to the introverted and antisocial nature of the blue haired barista.

"So after I check the data tables, I tally up a mark here, right?" Nikki scanned Tala's work and her nose crinkled.

"You're doing it wrong. Here, give it to me."

'Give it to me' was becoming a repeated mantra. It was clear that the bluenette had gotten into a rhythm of marking with Miss Yumi, and having a stranger barge in and upset her carefully optimized process rankled the serious girl. Tala's attempts to make small talk didn't seem to help any.

"So, Nikki, how long have you worked at the cafe?"

"A while."

"Hmm, and how did you first meet Aiko?"

The barista lifted her glasses and rubbed at her frustrated eyes. "Look, can we just ... not talk, okay? I just wanna get this done and go home."

Audrey's pestering by day, Nikki's stonewalling by night. By Friday, Tala had run out of ideas for getting the bluenette to speak up, so whenever she came to a lull in her marking, she busied herself by flicking open a local tabloid, one that specialized in occult and supernatural 'shocker stories'. Tala was skimming through an article about werewolves fighting Bigfoot in the Glenberry woods, when she noticed two blue eyes stealing curious glances at her newspaper.

And that was when everything changed. "What do you think about the paranormal?"

It took every ounce of Tala's retard strength to keep a straight face. "The paranormal?" she echoed as if recalling a fond memory, folding the article to hold it up as she leaned back in her seat, adopting a more relaxed position. "I prefer the term supernatural. The less professional name keeps the know-it-alls away. As for my thoughts, I would have to say there's a lot that people tend to ignore. And at the same time, there's a lot that just might be out there." _'You have no idea...'_

"Oh... that's cool..."

Now was her chance. "Any... thoughts you'd like to share?"

It was the little online blogger fanatic in the back of her head that made Nikki ask that initial question, and now she was kicking herself for it. She couldn't help that whenever she heard or saw anything dealing with the unexplained, she absolutely  _had_  to talk about it. "Oh, nothing really. I just talk on my blog online..."

"I've been on the internet enough to know that a  _lot_  of people talk about this kind of stuff." Here goes... "But talking about something, and  _looking_  for something..." Her grin finally broke her poker face. "... are two completely different things."

And then the dam burst. "Aw shit, really?! You actually do that kind of stuff?! Oh my god! What did you find?!" Nikki had shot up like a yappy blue spaniel before her redheaded host grinned and motioned for her to bring it down a notch. People were staring. With cheeks as red as the blood in them, Nikki calmed down.

Tala reached into her pocket and surrendered her phone after going to her images. Nikki took the disguised Huniebee like a starved child and began swiping through the pages like her life depended on it. All the while, her eyes growing with each passing screenshot.

Before the device was taken back out of her hands. "I'll be happy to share what I know. More than happy. But under one condition."

"Uh... okay?"

" _Talk_  to me! You don't have to be a chatterbox, but you know, at least  _try_  to enjoy our conversations, alright? I don't bite!" Tala said that last exclamation while motioning towards herself, namely her EE-cup chest, and seeing that large woman hand draw her attention to those large woman mounds made the bluenette's mind go blank for a moment. The amazon raised her brows. "Nikki." She saw those beautifully blue eyes were focused a bit low.

But that was enough to snap her out of her stupor. "Oh! Um... okay..."

"Oh, and teach me to grade while you're at it. Hard to learn when you refuse to speak a word."

"Um, okay..." Nikki ducked her head and played with her bangs. "Sorry, it's just ... I usually just do my own thing and ..."

"It can be a lot - dealing with new people."

Nikki gave shrug. "Kinda."

Tala put on her most reassuring smile. "Hey, don't forget that you're not the only one out of her element. Me, I'm still scrambling to get my head around this teaching gig. I've been staying up late, pouring over the textbooks and trying to stay one step ahead of my students."

The barista gave a tiny shake of her head. "That textbook is shit, but apparently a couple staff members wrote it, so the university makes every physics student buy one." Now Tala was intrigued.

" _You've_  read a university level textbook?"

"Please, I've read slash fics on  _Wattpad_  that were better written than that piece of junk. Bet I could do a better job explaining it myself..."

"I might just take you up on that," Tala nodded. "But going back to our supernatural discussion, you wouldn't happen to know any local 'hot spots', would you?"

Now Nikki was alive and buzzing. "You mean places with para - er, supernatural sightings? Shit, I've got a whole map back at my place! Heck, I could show you around myself! We could go this weekend!"

"Hmm, maybe not this weekend, but let's keep it in mind," Tala replied. Nikki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, um, sure. Something come up with Miss Yumi?"

"Not Aiko," Tala corrected, crooking a grin, "but it's something big."

XXXXX

When the weekend rolled around, Tala spent the Saturday afternoon clothes shopping with Kyanna.

With the visit to Lusties planned for their evening, the Latina stylist had taken it upon herself to dress the amazon in something less... rugged. The curves on that woman could probably be seen through a parka, but this was gonna be a  _party_ , and there was no need for Tal to look like she's there to chop down trees. Boys and girls, certainly, but not trees.

"I haven't worn this in ten years..." Tala commented as she looked herself in the vanity mirror at La Chic Boutique. Tight jeans, a striped midriff shirt, and converses? "I look like a mom trying to get into her daughter's party."

"Not with  _that_  six-pack." Kyanna chimed in, walking up and giving that lean and mean belly a solid pat.

The sun inevitably went down, and the devastatingly sexy duo was on approach to the heart of the deep bass music and the eye-popping neon lights.

Kyanna, as a favorite in the club, was let through with a friendly greeting from the bouncer. When the amazon walked up to the visibly shorter man, there was a fleeting moment of tension before the dark-dressed man swallowed and let her through. It could have been her chest, now practically in just a harness with the belly shirt, it could be the fact that she was six-two  _without_  the boots, but nonetheless, they were in.

"I'm not particularly fond of dancing with hormone-drunk teenagers with the attention span of a moth at a fireworks display."

Tala felt as out of her element as a gorilla in the chimp enclosure. A tall, self-aware glass of stalwart feminine physique and sex appeal proceeding into a colorfully dim building full of intoxicated children 'If being seven years older than these people makes me senile, I can only imagine being seventy years older...' Shaking the negative thoughts from her head, Tala did her best to put herself into a more positive frame of mind. Besides, she fondly recalled her own experiences at these kinds of places all the way up to a decade ago. "I might be a little too old for this."

"Pfft! Do I have to remind you that you got the most bangin' body here? Try to have fun!"

And have fun they did, especially when they ran into an upbeat Tiffany and a reluctant Nikki while they watched Audrey pummel a poor bastard for groping her. But the real fun was had when they stepped on the dance floor, with the exception of Nikki, of course. Though Tala came from a time where actual breakdancing was yet to turn into retardation without justification, she showed off her moves, moving around that titanic frame with the speed and energy of someone half her size. By the time she and the girls, with the exception of Audrey left, she had gotten twelve numbers, three of whom were students of hers too drunk to recognize her. All of which, she soundly crumpled up and threw away.

But when she was away from the festivities and the drunkenness, she went right back to her friendly and charitable self.

"Anyone care to join me at the spa to wind down? I'm paying."

"The spa? Now we're talking," Kyanna grinned. "I heard they've got a late-night hot spring; I've been dying to go!"

Kyanna was the only one, though. Nikki mumbled something like 'Not my thing...', and Tiffany gave a well meaning smile and excused herself so she could look after her friend. "You two have fun, though," the cheerleader winked.

 _'Exactly my thought,'_ Tala grinned one cab ride to the spa later. She and Kyanna were alone inside the women's change room, and while Tala had done her date the courtesy of picking a locker at the far end of the aisle, she couldn't help but steal glances as Kyanna unlaced her heels and tucked away her jewelry. "I'm surprised the girls wouldn't join us. I did offer to pay."

"Well, Tiffany is your student, after all," the Latina reminded. "She likes to get out and have fun, but it's probably a little awkward hanging around her prof wearing nothing but a towel."

"I thought the towels were optional." Kyanna turned and startled, finding Tala standing right behind her in nothing but a belly shirt and panties. The redhead put on her sexiest grin as her hands slid to the hem of Kyanna's top. "Here, let me."

Kyanna went quiet, but she obediently lifted her arms, and very quickly ,Tala was purring at the sight of a lacy, black push-up bra and the heavenly mounds straining against their cups. "Those gym tops just don't do you justice," Tala growled, fully in playgirl mode. Kyanna gasped as Tala skimmed a finger over the rim of her black bra, plucking at the fabric with every pass and easing her fingertip inside.

Kyanna flinched and looked away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, a shadow of her boisterous self. "I know I was egging you on and flirting all night, but ..."

Tala finished the thought. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea?"

The hairdresser nodded, and Tala removed her hands and stepped away. "It's been a while since I've been out with anybody. I thought I was ready to jump in and go crazy but ..." She self-consciously folded her arms around her chest. "Tala, you're an awesome friend, and I really  _really_ like you. I just don't want to do anything to screw that up. You're not mad?"

"Mad?" Tala gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. "I'd be mad if you let me keep going and left with a head full of regrets. It's my bad for moving in so fast." Frustrated, maybe. Shaking with pent-up tension, yes, but she couldn't be mad at Kyanna's honesty.

"Sorry. It's been a ... frustrating week."

"I kinda get it. I mean, I only see Audrey once every couple weeks for her hair; I can't imagine being trapped with her day in and out. Hey, you wanna get dressed, go out for one last drink?"

Tala shook her head. "It is late, and we should both be getting back home."

Dressed and outside the spa, Tala accepted a friendly hug from Kyanna before waving the Latina off in her separate cab. A long sigh wracked her frame. A stunningly gorgeous Latina girl who shared her love of fitness and fun, and she'd let her ride off into the friend zone.

Kyu was never going to let her hear the end of this.

XXXXX

Even though she got friendzoned, didn't bask in the comforting warmth of a hotspring, and got a surprising reassuring pat on the back from the little pink fairy drinking all her soda, Tala chalked up this Saturday night as a positive one, especially when she got the text from Aiko.

_-How ya feelin' sexy?-_

There was a pregnant moment of typing before she replied. _-Stressed.-_

_-Ya, the first week will do that to ya. Wanna talk about it?-_

_-Nothin' you can't already imagine. Audrey torments me in the morning, Nikki stonewalls me in the evening.-_

_-Hey, I got somethin' that'll cheer ya up.-_

_-Lay it on me.-_

Tala expected some good news, like Aiko finally finding another job. She got that, but she didn't expect what came after that text.

_-I'm SO grateful for my week outta that floor-tile dungeon, that I think you deserve a little treat. ;)-_

Following that text, Tala's phone received a whole list of erotic pics from her exotic lovely. A lacy black and purple lingerie hugged Aiko's gentle curves as each picture presented a sexy pose, each more erotic than the last. Arms crossed under that half-clothed, deliciously round bosom, dainty hands squeezing those lovely mounds as she gave the camera a tantalizing smirk, her tongue lolling out of her maw as she laid across her sofa drenched in sweat with a hand between her naked legs, a pose away from the camera, showing that beautifully round ass as two drenched digits were lodged between a set of reddened, drenched lips.

_-And I was thinking about you the while time, you sexy think you <3-_

Tala locked her door that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I like to improve my work. If anyone has critiques -constrictive, mind you- or if if you simply enjoy the story, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section. The story's written, but it can still be improved upon.


	6. Welcoming: Tala's Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry about the wait. I was working on the story proper on FanFiction, and I got my digital sketchpad the day I last posted. But no more excuses! I can't guarantee I'll get a chapter in every day, but hopefully not once a week.
> 
> Still though, I do hope you enjoy the ride.

"So this is where the Glenberry Ghoul was last spotted?"

One week later and Tala was making good on her promise to accompany Nikki on a tour of the city's paranormal haunting sites. Nikki had started them off with lighter fare - odd animal noises heard in the park; strange, flashing lights at the beach - but this latest location had Tala legitimately concerned. A grimy, industrial area was no place for a young girl -eighteen, she reminded herself- to be running about all alone at night. Nikki, however, strode down the back alleys with carefree ease like she was enjoying herself at a local festival. How ironic.

"It's called the Glenberry Grey Ghoul," she corrected. "There's been all these posts online about people seeing this creepy, pale figure lurking around the warehouses here. They say that if you catch the Grey Ghoul with a light, its eyes go white and reflective, and its like its body gives off this bio-luminescent flash! That's how it keeps getting away."

"Intriguing," Tala mused, poking at some slimy refuse in a garbage can. Her thoughts were mildly distracted by visions of purple lace over pale, Asian skin, but she shook her head clear to focus on the task at hand. Nikki repeated her question.

"So what do you think it is, Tala? A ghost? Some sort of escaped government lab rat? An alien?"

"Assuming it's not just an albino streaker, it's definitely corporeal," Tala replied. She had a bad feeling in her gut. Nikki's other sites had been duds, but this place was making the hair on her neck stand at attention. The signs were all there, and they pointed to something legitimately foul.

"I bet it's a hobgoblin," Nikki chimed. "Ghost-Facers-dot-com says they like to live in dark spots with lots of trash like this!"

 _'Of course those amateurs would,'_ Tala scoffed to herself. "I'd like to propose an alternate theory, Nikki."

"Alternate to the GhostFacers? Pssh, I'd like to hear this!" Still, Nikki lent her ear. In the darkness, her eyes were dark, sparkling pools of enthusiasm, and Tala couldn't help but lose herself in their rapt attention.

She took a deep breath. _'Here goes...'_

"In places like these, with plenty of crap to mess around with, a lot of traps could be laid out for the unfortunate explorer. Goblins are good at that, true. And they're also little assholes and tricksters. But goblins like to operate in groups. Seeing as we haven't heard so much as a pen drop,  _and_  seeing as we were here for half an hour and didn't find any traps, strewn about food, or droppings thus far, we can effectively rule out goblins."

Tala drove a compelling argument. "What do you think it could be? An actual ghoul?"

"Even less likely. Ghouls feed off of flesh, dead or alive. They prefer cemeteries to industrial areas." Tala then shifted her gaze to scan the area. "This place is abandoned. It looks like it..." _'But looks can be deceiving.'_ She reminded herself. "Goblins are a likely bet, but there's no signs of them. No littered trash, no noise, no traps. Not even any rats or other pests. And with the trash still full, moist, and smelly, it all makes even less sense."

The explanations as Tala went on, sound and reasonable, chipped away at the bluenette's nonchalant attitude, and as the creeping fears started to take hold, she found herself much closer to Tala than moments ago. "I-Ideas?"

"If I had better equipment, I'd be able to look for specific clues. But right now, it's like nothing at all lives here." Then a thought occurred. "Unless..."

"W-what?" The fear and Nikki was prevalent, but her curiosity was beginning a steady recovery.

"No proof that something _lives_ here, but something might still come here. Say, to catch their breath, eat their food, or a good place no one can hear their victims scream." They shined their flashlight all around and into the old and decrepit buildings, up at roofs, and in the trash. Nothing. "Anything sentient would be smart enough to not leave a trace, like now."

They found their way back to the main complex, empty-handed. Time to check the construction zone.

As they soldiered onward to the construction site, Tala couldn't help but smile inwardly as Nikki walked a little closer by her side. The construction site was a treacherous mess of steel girders and concrete; hardly hospitable for humans, but somehow the area seemed alive with sounds - metal chains clinking in the wind, and the distinct scrape of feet in the dirt.

"What was that?" Nikki whispered.

"Where?" Tala whispered back. The bluenette pointed to a stack of girders.

"I thought I heard something over -"

"BOO!"

Nikki shrieked, tripping on her feet and scuttling away on her backside. Tala immediately whipped her flashlight at the figure who'd lunged from the darkness, a cackling banshee dressed in a familiar shade of red.

"Audrey?"

"Oh my god, you should've seen the look on your face, Nik! Hilarious!" The she-devil raised a beer bottle to her lips and swigged in between laughs.

"Audrey, what are you doing here?"

Wasn't that the dumbest question ever. "'m here fer the party! Gonna be a sick-ass rave here tonight. Guess ah'm early," she added, finishing off her beer and tossing the bottle into the darkness. The noticeable sway in her posture suggested that hadn't been her first drink of the night.

"Ha ha, very funny," Nikki grumbled, still sulking in the dirt. She was trying valiantly to stand up, but the huge safari backpack of ghost-hunting equipment she'd brought along made her as immobile as a toppled turtle. Audrey very quickly appraised the stash of cameras, flashlights and microphones with a groan.

"Oh my god, are you still doing that friggin boogeyman hunting bullshit? And who'd you rope in with you?" One cell phone flashlight in Tala's face later left Audrey in stitches again. "Holy shit, Miss Stoner?!"

"Hello, Audrey."

"Shut the fuck up. You actually believe in this ghost and alien shit too?! What happened, did you people skip the line where they were handing out brain cells?"

"Aliens and monsters are real," Nikki protested. "Tala knows everything about them, Audrey!"

"Yeah, just like that Zoey chick knows everything about Start Trek. That still doesn't mean it's not make-believe! God, no wonder you struck out with Kyanna; she probably figured out what a huge mega-dork you were!"

Tala's muscles twitched irritably, but now was not the time to pursue how Audrey had discovered that bit of information. "Audrey, it's the middle of the night. What are you doing out here?"

"I told ya - I'm here for the party. My boyfriend brought me out. Oh, did I tell ya, Nik? I've got a new favorite toy, and he knows just how t'treat a lady. Where'd he go, anyway? Hey, Asshole! I need another drink!"

"Right behind you, my dear." Tala's eyes raised at the new figure emerging from the shadows.

A young man, appearing no older than Audrey herself. A tall, handsome drink of water who's toned chest and abs were on full display with the tight-fit tank he wore under that unzipped leather jacket. Spiked black hair, bright amber eyes, jawline chiseled to perfection...

Audrey wasted no time in staking her claim in the form of a rough kiss on the mouth. "Nik, this is Damian, my new favorite man. Damian, this is my friend Nik, and the ape over there is that loser teacher I told you about. The one who probably flashed her fake tits to get a job, because she sure as hell can't teach for shit!"

"Ah yes, the teacher. She looks pretty decent, I'll give her that, but nothin' like my girl Audrey." Damian nodded, a shallow gentleman to compliment Audrey's inflated ego and cattiness.

 _'Not bad...'_ Tala summarized as she scanned Damian's teen-heartthrob features. To a girl like Audrey, his dark, gothic looks would be irresistible as potent catnip. Even Tala, with her general lack of interest in men, felt her eyes lingering on Damian's sharp cheekbones and smoldering, amber eyes. Her gaze dared shift downwards below his gothic belt buckle, and her goosebumps returned. _'Something's at play here...'_

But Audrey wasn't having none of that. Marching up to the woman twice her size and several times her strength, Audrey jabbed a manicured claw into her bosom. "Hey bitch! Don't be lookin' at my boyfrien' like that! Unless you want another heel stomp to the foot!" she exclaimed in a powerful drunken screech before she took a freshly opened beer from him.

That seemed to snap the amazon out of her brief stupor as she regarded the little red devil with a furrowed brow. Something about Audrey's boyfriend just rubbed her the wrong way, and she had a strong suspicion of what it was. He just fed Audrey whatever she wanted, from compliments to booze, like fattening up prey before going for the kill. _'But I need more proof...'_

But after helping Nikki to her feet and reloading her gear, she figured she'd save it for later. Dropping her tensed demeanor for a casual one, Tala returned to her little nerd girl's side. "Well far be it from me to keep you two lovebirds from partying at an abandoned industrial plant. And if Belrose is here, then Nikki and I are not." Turning around to don her face of deep thought, Tala got Nikki and turned to leave, mutually agreeing to put their exploration of the construction area on hold.

"Can you  _believe_  Audrey, falling for some stupid Twilight guy?! Ugh, you can just tell he's a pompous, arrogant asshole!"

Tala stared up with somewhat of a grin. "I don't know, I always thought the werewolf boy in that series was a sweetheart."

Nikki gagged audibly. "Yeah, if you like books that encourage abusive relationships and teenage pregnancy. Please tell me you only read those ironical - hey, what gives?" Tala had stopped her and was rifling through her oversized backpack.

"Just need to borrow a light," Tala explained. A high-intensity camping flashlight, perfect. Tala gave it a test click, then turned around and approached Audrey and Damian with her most easy-going smile. "I almost forgot! Damian, was it? How about a quick group photo?"

When the boy turned around, none too pleased at the continued interruptions, Tala shone her blinding light into his eyes. Tala analyzed his features closely as he reeled back, throwing his hands over his eyes. _'Hmmm... just need to see the -there it is!'_ As a sizzling noise began to become audible, the tell-tale streaks of smoke wafted from under his hands.

Tala cocked a meaty leg back to strike and launched it like a piston to the boy's face.

Damian went flying off his feet. Audrey screamed.

"What the fuck? You fucking hit my date! Oh my god, do you have to ruin everything for - Hey, don't touch me!"

Tala did her best to ignore the fingernails scrabbling against her forearm as she yanked Audrey to her side. "You should be a little more worried about  _him_  touching you, Belrose."

She gestured with her flashlight to Damian's prone body. The head-on sucker punch Tala had delivered should have knocked the boy out cold, but he was already stirring and sitting up, and screaming furiously. That wasn't what made Audrey and Nikki gasp. It was the white, reflective glare coming off Damian's skin, as though his skin was a surface of tiny, glittering diamonds.

"News flash, Belrose - you don't want the kind of hickeys he was going to serve up."

Damian snarled like an animal, his eyes fully white under Tala's beam, devoid of even slit pupils. Gnashing a mouth full of monstrous fangs, he lunged at Tala.

 _'Guess we found our Grey Ghoul.'_ In light of the supernatural danger who had just made himself known and darted forth at breakneck speed, Tala grinned like a starving man before a feast. With a click, her flashlight came to life again, and in the fangface's moment of distraction, Tala acted.

Dropping the flashlight, Tala reached her hands forward and caught Damien by the wrists, and using the ongoing momentum, Tala sidestepped and spun the snarling boy like a loaded sling.

But snarling became screaming as the amazon let go, and was sent flying again, pelted against a brick wall like a weighty ragdoll.

Nikki was beyond words as she watched the scuffle, and to see the giant woman serve up fistful after fistful of effortless ass-kicking, it was like seeing a bird of prey skydiving or a tiger running down a meal. She looked over to Audrey, who was still frozen on the spot, eyes wide as dinnerplates. Whether it was from Tala pummeling her boyfriend, or finding out that said boyfriend intended to make her a meal was anyone's guess.

Damien didn't even have time to pick himself up off the ground before he noticed the feminine force of nature charging towards him. Heaving to his feet, he dug his claws into the brick wall his impact cracked, and yanked out a torso-sized slab of wall before hurling it at his aggressor.

Tala simply dodged by jumping to run along the intact part of the wall for several steps before leaping off it and dishing out a vicious roundhouse. Damien soundly ducked to avoid the steel-toe limb as it wooshed over his head, but he had turned around just in time to catch the other heel to the cheek.

Tala's kick threw him back into the brick wall, and this time, the impact sent the facade collapsing on top of him. The dust had barely settled, and Tala was already moving forward.

"Belrose, you two bring any more alcohol?" After that combat display, Audrey didn't waste a beat replying.

"Booze? Y-yeah, there's a bottle of rum and six-pack in the back."

"Good. Nikki, pass me the emergency flares from your sack. This one's a sparkler. Stakes to the heart won't do the trick; got to be a bit more thorough." With flares in one hand, and Audrey's bottle of spirits in the other, Tala stomped towards the pinned Damian. She paused, realizing her audience.

"You two probably don't need to see this."

Nikki nodded, and tugged Audrey behind a large bulldozer, not that it did any good. The redhead ended up peeking around the corner, and she was too busy recording on her phone to stop Audrey.

Flames exploded into the night sky alongside the shrieks of a terrified animal.

XXXXX

A glittering, diamond-like powder wafted among the black ash that was Damian's body. For Nikki, the only thing weirder than staring at a corpse was realizing how nonchalant Tala appeared as she dusted off her hands. Audrey still hadn't recovered from her dumbfounded shock.

"My boyfriend ... y-you friggin' burned my boyfriend..." A spark of survival instinct clicked in her eye. She snatched a rock from the ground and pulled Nikki behind her. "Stay the fuck away from us, you psycho bitch! Nikki, call the cops on her before she kills us both!" The bluenette didn't move a muscle to help.

"He was a ghoul, Audrey. He was going to suck the red right out of your eyes."

"He was HOT!" Audrey protested. "And get your head screwed on straight: vampires don't exist! It's just you stupid nerds telling make-believe stories! There's no such thing as monsters, there's no such thing as zombies or vampires, and there sure as hell aren't any werewolves or bigfoot or the tooth fairy!"

"Wrong on all counts," Tala replied. "There are over fifty documented categories of 'extra-humans' and human hybrids, twelve variations of the undead, and two hundred animal species biologically classified under the prodigium or 'monster' genus. Werewolves prefer to be called 'lycans', Bigfoot lives in a protected mountain range in Alberta and ... well, okay, you're right - there is no tooth fairy, but I can introduce you to her horny little cousin."

Audrey was aghast. "Oh my god, whatever you two have been smoking, you need to stop  _right now_  because I am  _drop dead drunk_  and even I know you're crazy!"

"Did you not see the sparkling light show on his face when I hit him with the flashlight or gave him an Indian funeral?"

"You're fucking crazy!" She seemed to be out of things to say.

"It's a long story," Tala sighed, "but let's just say I've lived half my life with one foot in the paranormal. After what you've seen here tonight, I guess I owe you two an explanation..."

Now, Audrey would have taken her denial to the grave if all she had was Tala and Nikki to go off of as proof.

But luckily, Tala had a small piece of proof with her in the form of Kyu. Now, Tala would definitely not have used the Tooth Fairy's 'horny little cousin' to get her point across, but fact of the matter was there wasn't much else at her disposal.

"Oh my god! They picked this dump as a party spot?" the brown-haired girl guffawed as she made it to the spot just in time to be flagged down by her favorite client. "Yo, whut it do, Nariko? Jeez girl, you look like you're the one who knocked this place down!" she exclaimed, taking in Tala's more-rugged-than-usual appearance, complete with authentic dust and soot over her arms and boots.

They met up by the amazon's request around the bulldozer where Nikki was trying to calm Belrose down. But before the love fairy in disguise could ask about it, Tala explained. "Long story short, I fought and burned Audrey's ghoulish boyfriend..." She looked over, and caught the smaller redhead's crazed death glare. "Oh I'm sorry, her  _hot_  ghoulish boyfriend, and she still doesn't believe me. Now that her favorite party friend is here, I figured you could help."

"What? You expect me to believe Kyu is a fucking tooth fairy or whatever?! Fuck you! Fuck all of you!"

Kyu pursed her lips as she weighed her options, and coming to a conclusion, she grinned a wide, face-splitting grin. "Alright Tal, you win. But uh, you owe me, if you catch my drift." Suggestive comments aside, Kyu dropped her disguise, hair, dress, and all, leaving just the little pink-haired cutie in her skimpy pink outfit.

"You're a... a..."

"Sexy love fairy? Yeah, I know." Kyu nonchalantly affirmed, checking her nails with a self-gratifying grin as she began floating off the ground. "But the real question is if my favorite redhead knows." With a flutter of her fairy wings, Kyu floated over to her party mate, and raising one hand, she materialized a cold glass bottle of Daiquiri and offered it forward. "C'mon girl I know you ain't gonna call it quits just 'cause a cute boy almost juiced you like an orange."

While the pinkhead and the redhead were busy having a moment, the other redhead and the bluenette had taken their leave away from the accumulating future party scene with a lot to be explained.

XXXXX

As it would turn out, Tala was a bonafide monster hunter.

Well, a first lieutenant in the division of her organization that deals with the fighting and the policing, but still. When Tala told Nikki a week ago that she was here on vacation on account of being a little too good at her job, she wasn't lying. If she could pummel a ear-splitting, girl-eating... _thing_ , one that had super strength, evidenced by that giant chunk of wall he hurled, then Nikki would hate to see what she could do against something else, like a werewolf. Just kidding, she'd love to see.

"The GPRD, or Global Paranormal Research and defense." Tala replied, when asked the name of her group. "Think of the men in black, except not just aliens. The tabloids are the news, and the paranormal are the citizens slash criminals. But..." She looked down at Nikki. If they were still walking together with the bluenette's face as bright and giddy as a child going to the toy store, now was as good a time as any. "If you don't want to get involved after watching me burn that gu-"

"Are you kidding me?! He'd have..." Actually, she preferred not to think about that part. "You know what he'd have done. But I've been waiting my whole life for something like this! Any way I can help, let's do it!"

"That's my girl."

"So where do we start?" Nikki was eager as a puppy with a brand new toy, and the sudden enthusiasm forced Tala to take a step back.

"Whoa, slow down there. The first thing  _I_  need to do is fill out a mountain of paperwork. Strictly speaking, I'm off-duty, so my supervisors are going to want to know why I picked a fight with class-three Nosferatu without authorization. Not to mention that the home office would like to know about an unregistered sparkly vamp hunting in your city."

"So you guys have a secret base here? Can I see it? I promise not to tell!"

Tala chuckled, an old dog barely keeping up with her excited new pup. "Nikki, I was sent to Glenberry to keep out of trouble. Statistically speaking, your city is the most normal, non-descript an and human city on this part of the ocean. The strangest thing you people have out here is a cafe that serves pumpkin spice latte all year-round."

Nikki wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I never did get Nutmeg's menus... But, you're saying there's nothing special or supernatural here? That all those ghost sightings and monster reports I've researched are - are -" The bluenette was beginning to tear up, so Tala finished her thought.

"Fake? Yeah, ninety-nine percent of it usually is. There really shouldn't be anything special about Glenberry. Shouldn't be," she added, catching Nikki's dreams before they could be crushed. "Think about it - in the time I've been here I've already met a love fairy, and now a vampire. That's an unusually high rate of supernatural sightings." Nikki's eyes popped up hopefully.

"So there could be more weird stuff in town? Stuff we could check out together?"

"It'd be strictly civilian work. Just you and me looking up stuff on our own steam. I _am_ on vacation," Tala emphasized, but the more she thought about it, the greater her curiosity became. What bizarre and creepy-crawly underbelly had the GPRD overlooked in their surveys?

What other unusual residents did Glenberry have hiding under its facade of normality? What dangers and secrets lay waiting for her to discover?

Now that was a mystery she was dying to solve!


	7. Welcoming: The Cat with no Claws

When Nikki wasn't being dragged to a party at Audrey's demand, she found herself yanked along to the Glenberry mall for the redhead's other passion: shopping for some trendy dress that would be worn once and then discarded in a closet. This time, however, the gamer girl had a passion of her own to discuss, and managed to guide Audrey into the washroom for a heart-to-heart.

The subject matter didn't sit too well with Audrey.

"I am not talking to that giant psycho  _bitch_! And you're downright fucking retarded if you think for a second that being around that bloated ox is a good idea!"

That did it. Cheeks flushing red, Nikki whirled on her friend, pointing an accusing finger. "Says the girl that got lured to an  _abandoned industrial plant_  to get sucked dry by a douchey Twilight guy! I mean, really?! It's like every time I think there's half a brain in that bitchy and volatile head of yours, you just remind me that there isn't!" She threw a broad gesture with her hand. "You should be thanking Tala, you ungrateful...!"

Nikki's rant fell short when she failed to think of a proper  _thing_  to refer to her friend as. It wasn't that she was alien to the concept of vulgar language - as a hardcore gamer, it came quite naturally when she was in the zone - but words and insults that her redheaded friend was oh so used to just didn't roll off the bluenette's gamer tongue when she was away from the screen.

A sober Audrey very well knew this, and her first impulse was to challenge that fact. Her hands rested on her hips in the most provocative way possible. "Ungrateful what? Bitch? Whore? Slut? Out with it, AnnMarie! Say what's on your mind!" The she-devil's dare was accented by her leaning directly in her friend's face, an action that made the bluenette lean back ever so slightly, but boil even redder. This battle of wills was far from over.

"What? Bitch? Is that what you wanted to hear?" Out of the above, Nikki did refer to her friend as such when she had a third ear to listen, but such happenings were few and far between with her limited choice of friends. "How about asshole? Or ungrateful asshole at that! You'd be dead if it wasn't for Tala! You should be thanking her!"

Audrey leaned back as if repulsed by the thought. "As if! She burns my boyfriend and takes my beer! You call that saving?! Get real!"

"Why don't _you_ get real? If we actually left, you'd be ghoul jerky right now! I'm  _thankful_  Tala saved your life! You're my friend! Why don't you be too?!" Between the two of them, it's usually Nikki who shows the sentiment.

"Saved my life? More like ruined it! That bitch has had it out for me since day one! No way in hell am I letting her near me. You got that, Nicole?"

Nikki debated pressing onward, but Audrey had that evil look in her eye that said she was ready to fight to the grave, so the younger girl caved in. "Yeah, okay, I guess." Why was it so hard to speak up for herself? Why did she give in so easily?

Audrey nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now I've got a sweet-ass sale to catch, and you're coming with me. Maybe we can find something that looks half-decent on you. Oh, and I maxed out my credit card, so you're paying."

"Again?" Nikki protested.

"What, you know I'm good for it. Now get a move on, AnnMarie!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Nikki balled up her fists angrily, but she went along with Audrey. In the end, she always went along with Audrey. It was her lot in life.

 _'I bet Tala would never let anyone push her around,'_ she thought miserably. She'd been hoping her new friend - Tala was a friend, right? - would join them at the mall today, but Tala had mentioned something about a study session with Aiko for her university classes. _'At least we're both having a lousy day,'_ Nikki consoled herself.

XXXXX

In a cluttered yet cultured apartment across town, Tala sat back on Aiko's beat-up sofa while the former physics professor sat her shapely rear atop the amazon's beefy lap. The reference textbooks Tala had brought were scattered across the floor, forgotten as their hands and lips wandered over each other's bodies.

"Mmh, oh Tal, it doesn't get any better than this," Aiko panted between kisses, her glasses and necktie askew. The red-headed Irishwoman just gave a sultry smile back as she caught her own breath. "Or does it?" Aiko purred. Tala's tank top had slipped off her shoulder as their hands wandered, flashing the strap of her lovely, red brassiere. Aiko pulled at the fabric for a better look.

Tala's hands stopped her.

"Getting stage fright again?" Aiko pouted. Seriously, every time she tried to move to second base, Tala always held her back. "C'mon, you've seen plenty of me over the phone. How 'bout we even the score?"

"Can we talk for a second?" Tala needed to clear things up. Things with Aiko had heated up so quickly - from harmless teasing and flirting to sexting racy photos; now they were caught in these hot and heavy make-out sessions that Aiko seemed hungry to push to the next level. "Aiko, what am I to you?"

Tala swore she could make out the 'Oh god, here we go' face on Aiko's features as she began crafting her response. But unlike the Irish amazon, the Japanese lovely was never bogged down with such questions. Locking her hands behind the larger woman's neck, Aiko met her face-to-face on this. "I got nothin' ta hide Tal, so Imma be honest. How someone like you came to meet someone like me, I'll never know. But the  _last_  thing I'd do is complain."

Tala pursed her lips, thinking. "Alright, let me rephrase the question. What are we to each other?"

"As far as what?" Aiko asked, sitting up in her friend's lap, resting her dainty hands on the soft curve of her hips.

"Friends? Girlfriends? No-strings-attached?"

"No-strings-attached? Pfft, heck no!" Aiko was almost offended at such a suggestion. "It's  _way_  more than just your looks that's making me wanna fuck you senseless right now. Do I have to tell you again how much of a help you were in taking my load off? You're smart, you apparently have the patience of a grand master, I don't even know what you do to get a body like this." That sentiment was accented by the oriental beauty sliding a hand down into the amazon's tank top. "But to answer question, I'd say we're gooood friends. Whether we got benefits with that is entirely up to you. I'm  _all_  for it. The real question here is what's stopping you."

Tala could make out the 'Let's fuck already!' face from a mile away, and Aiko was exercising a lot of patience here, so for the sake of both their hormones, she'd be brief. "I'll be honest. For this to work, I believe we ought to be transparent with one another. I'll take your word for it that you got nothin' to hide, but that's not why I was asking. I'm asking because it's only fair I tell you a little more about myself. Namely, my job."

"What, you're in the marines or something? That'd be fuckin' hot!"

Tala's tinted cheeks were somehow adorable on that ruggedly beautiful face. "Mmmm, not quite. You gotta follow me on this one, Ai." When she got Aiko's attention on the matter, she took a deep breath. "You know Nikki's obsession with the paranormal?"

"Begrudgingly, yeah."

Tala whipped out her phone and went to her gallery. "Well, long story short, this is my job."

After Tala overcame the hurdle of dropping her off-the-radar job of monster hunting, and after calling up Kyu to provide a little background, of whom had the worst case of yellow fever, the two sat on Aiko's couch with one more hurdle to overcome.

"Aiko, if you're uh, weirded out, I understa-"

The amazon was cut off when a lipsticked set of lips mashed with her own, with the force and passion only repressed hormones could bring. But before Tala could get into it herself, Aiko pulled away.

"There! Ya happy? Can we fuck now? I've been reeeally patient up till now."

The Asian beauty's hands were circling Tala's belt buckle, sending shivers of barely-suppressed desire through the redhead's core. In reply, she drew her hands down the teacher's exposed belly, plucking the button off Aiko's shorts. "You don't have to wait any longer, Ai-chan." Tala growled threateningly.

With ravenous hunger, Aiko threw herself at Tala.

XXXXX

Curled under a blanket on Aiko's couch, Tala admired her lover as the oriental beauty chugged a beer in the afterglow of their love making. The beverage ran down Aiko's chin, and when she'd emptied the silver bullet, a loud belch escaped her ruby lips. Tala grinned and stretched. Aiko was anything but a proper lady, she'd proven that quite thoroughly.

"A covert government monster hunter, that's got to be one hell of a secret to keep," Aiko mused as she cracked open a second drink. "Makes all the kinks I've been keeping in the closet seem totally vanilla. So who else knows?"

"Nikki, and Audrey," Tala confirmed, reaching around her lover to grab a beer of her own. "Belrose wasn't exactly thrilled by the news."

"Think she's going to blurt about your secret?"

"No, but I can see her working overtime to make classes, and my life, a living hell. Plus, she's pretty protective of Nikki. I could see her trying to keep her from hanging out with me."

"Shit, and Nik's a damn quick marker too," Aiko grimaced. "T, you've gotta work overtime to bury the hatchet with that bitch."

"Believe me, I'm trying, but it's hard to be social in class."

"Maybe that's the problem," Aiko mused. "Maybe you've got to meet her on her own territory, where she doesn't have to act like a stuck up brat to impress groupies like Nora and that Lillian girl. Get to know Audrey on her own terms."

It wasn't a bad idea, Tala thought. Except for one thing. "Audrey's home turf... that means meeting her-" she groaned.

Aiko grinned and finished the thought. "Yup. A shopping trip to the Glenberry mall."

XXXXX

Tala didn't find herself wandering around campus often, but when she was ahead on the lesson, and when the class had a hearing in the auditorium, that left the amazon with ample free time to do absolutely nothing.

So after double-checking the schedule and sliding out of her coat, the stand-in teacher aimlessly wandered the halls with a certain little redhead occupying her thoughts. The irritable little hell spawn would probably keep insisting she's a crazy psychopath for 'burning someone', and that'd just be chalked up to the very prominent bout between them. One student even alluded to there being sexual tension between them, but even so, she could only imagine what the feisty little firecracker has to tell people about her now deceased boyfriend.

And then she smelled smoke.

No, not fire smoke like when she burned Tall, Pale, and Handsome to a sparkly crisp, but cigarette smoke. And where there was cigarette smoke, there was usually a fiery redhead at the source. The repulsive odor led her outside to the side of the building facing away from the parking lot and the grounds. A perfect spot to step away from prying eyes.

And of course, Audrey was there. The prima donna had her back to the amazon as Tala was hidden around the corner, and her accomplices, Nora and Lilian, were with her. Now, Tala never really had much of a problem with the goth girl or the tough chick in her weeks on campus, but with their bitchy friend around, holding focus was like holding a bucket of rocks at arm's length.

Lillian was a slacker through and through, but as long as she had her little corner in the back of the class, she was never really talked enough to be a bother. Most of Tala's attempts to get her to pay attention fell on deaf ears, however, and it was like leading the blind. But slacker or not, Tala had a thing for Goths. Who didn't?

Nora, on the other hand, was a different story. Tala pegged her as a legitimately good person, so long as she wasn't with her bitchy little friend. Whenever Tala did have to reprimand the girl, usually because Audrey wouldn't stop pestering her until she did, she quickly fell in line and got back to the lesson. A real keeper, that one.

But back to the matter at hand, Tala decided to do a little eavesdropping before crashing their party, so she stayed behind the corner of the building to listen to Audrey as she snapped at her raven-haired friend. "Don't give me that bullcrap, Lillian! You sound just as stupid as her!"

Lillian's amethyst eyes widened in exasperation. Shocking. "Hey, you never know! Like, there could really be monsters 'n demons out there!" That was probably the most passionate Tala has heard Lillian speak in... anything. But that sentiment rubbed Tala the right way, and ideas on what'll get the girl to pay attention in class started manifesting. _'I'll have to talk with Lill after today.'_

"Ohhh my god!" Audrey groaned, rolling her eyes as hard as they could go. "Whatever stupid ass cult you're in, cut that shit out when you're around me! It's bad enough you're even into that kind of shit!"

Tala began her approach. The self-absorbed trio had congregated in a handicapped parking spot, and once she was behind them, Tala leaned her arm against the stall's pole and its bright, blue image of a wheel-chaired stick figure, pausing so that her shadow loomed over the girls.

"Ummm, Audrey?" Nora piped up, pointing an anxious finger over her friend's shoulder.

Not acknowledging the immediate threat, Audrey consciously looked down to her shoulder. "What? I got something on me?"

Now it was Lillian's turn to alert her friend. Carelessly blowing a bubble of her grape-flavored gum, she too raised a dainty finger towards the incoming peril. "Um... you know that teacher? Stoner, was it? Our homeroom teacher? She's like, _right_ behind you."

That, Audrey did understand. Looking back, two ruby eyes swiveled about to land on the object of discussion, and they immediately contorted into an ill-tempered glare. "Ugh! What the fuck?!"

"Ladies, if we could have the parking lot? I need to speak with Audrey. Alone," she added, twisting the metal in her palm. One look at the thirty-degree bend in the pole was all the convincing Nora and Lillian needed. She already figured that Audrey dragged Nora and Lillian out of class by the hair once the bell rang, not to mention they were just blips by comparison when it came to bad behavior, so that was already grounds to dismiss the two to get some one-on-one with Audrey, who looked about ready to heel-stab her feet again.

"Bus-ted." the Goth sang over her shoulder as she trotted away.

If she was equally intimidated, Audrey made a good effort of concealing her worry. "What the fuck do you want?"

Tala raised her open palms in surrender. "Can we talk? Look, I'm sorry about your boyfriend. If there was a way to take him in alive, believe me, I would have done it."

Audrey scoffed. "Are you still going on about that crap? Because believe me, I am so over Dorian."

"You mean, Damian?"

"See?" Audrey jabbed the air with her cigarette. "There you go again - telling me what's what and thinking you can just boss me around because you're some muscle-headed ox who got herself a fancy teaching job! Just stay the fuck out of my way, stay the fuck away from my friends and we're super, okay?"

Tala thought back to Nikki's joyful eyes when they'd gone on their paranormal hunting trip. "That's not going to be an option, believe me. Look, Audrey, is there anything I can do to make things right, or at least get us back to neutral? I know it seems like we're enemies, but I don't actually hate you. In fact, you're the kind of girl I really like."

Audrey recoiled. "Excuse me?"

"What? You're a young woman who speaks her mind, and doesn't let anyone trample over her. You could stand to get a better vocabulary, but I admire your spunk. Some of the girls in class could learn a lot from you about standing up for yourself."

The redhead's face was scrunched up in absolute confusion. Then, "You dirty pervert! I could get you arrested for hitting on a student, you know that?"

"Whoa, Audrey, I said I admire, not -" Tala stopped. _'What kind of girl is this that she has to take a compliment and filter it as a catcall or an insult?'_

"Not used to compliments," she mused. "Look, Audrey, I'm in a relationship already, and I'm not looking to add another woman. I just want things to be cool between us. I'm ready to do anything if it means I can show you I'm sincere."

Now transactional relationships, Audrey understood intimately. "Aaanything?" she purred, a devious grin splitting her ruby lips.

Tala groaned. She could practically see the dollar signs rolling in Belrose's eyeballs. _'Here we go...'_

XXXXX

Now, Tala very well knew that keeping Audrey appeased solely by blowing money on her at the mall was the equivalent to trying to feed a black hole. It just wasn't gonna stop. She needed an alternative way to get on this prima donna's good side. But following that signing of souls, Kyu sensed the great disturbance in the Force and poofed on the scene when Tala was alone again. And in fond memory of her very impressive track record, the love fairy reminded the amazon how girls like Audrey Belrose operated.

"Girl, you gotta make her know you're in control. Let Lil' Red know the hard way that her bitchiness ain't gonna phase you. Trust me, it works." Tala began tallying another I-O-U to the pile, but then she remembered it was Kyu's job. And a good job she was doing. So far.

Surprisingly enough, after getting the redhead's number and calling her up to meet at the university dorms after school, Audrey showed up. One would assume this was a date with the set-up and Tala showing up in her car.

The first hour or so at the mall was relatively tame browsing. Just some undergarments and a few snacks. Tala figured it was just Audrey testing the waters, making sure she was legit. But once a pricey dress came along, the amazon knew when to make her move and take that advice.

"Hey teach! Buy this for me."

The amazon eyed the garment up and down, and she frowned. "Four hundred dollars for that tiny pile of silk and glitter? Uh, I think not. Try again." Tala wouldn't even buy a four hundred dollar dress for herself, let alone a bitchy little prima donna with attitudinal problem.

"You do realize I got your ass in a vice, right?" The shear confidence in Audrey's demeanor, from those dainty hands on her dress-accented hips to that snarky voice almost made Tala break her poker face. She'd have fun knocking her down a peg or two.

Crossing her hunky arms, Tala regarded the meager threat with a shrug. "What makes you say that? So you're a frigid bitch while I'm teaching. Think I can't deal with that? It's not like I haven't dealt with run-of-the-mill gold-digging harlots like you before. And as a teacher, I'll just fail you and you'll be outta here by the year's end. But don't get it twisted. I'm the one trying to keep you in college. The dean knows even better than me that you're a stuck-up bitch who doesn't know when to sit down and shut up. So," Tala paced around Belrose with such the same confidence, she almost felt bad when she saw the girl's glare falter. "You can either be a good girl at school, or you can piss me off and wonder how many quizzes you can fail until the dean decides to cut you loose."

Belrose was effectively backed into a corner, and didn't have much else to fight back with. "Ugh! I can't fuck understand you sometimes! You bring me all the way out here and then threaten me? What the fuck?!"

Tala didn't expect her to play it off as a joke or just conform, and that was fine with her. "You must be out of your mind if you think I'd just give you my credit card every day, Belrose." Verbal thrashing aside, Tala traded her incredulous look in for a stern look. "Look, Audrey. I already said I admire you. You're made of stern stuff. I wouldn't be buying you squat if I didn't. Know that I'm not your enemy. But if you don't get with the program, I will bust you up. You got that?" Being hard on someone she liked was challenging for a Samaritan like Tala, but this was a legitimate 'I speak, you listen' situation. Maybe she'd take the firecracker out somewhere she liked later. That is, if she stopped acting up.

For a long moment, Audrey merely glared, and Tala could sense the calculations whirling through the smaller girl's head. Finally, Audrey snorted and tossed her find back to the rack. "Whatever, it's a crappy dress anyway. Hey, I'm hungry. You gonna buy me some lunch?"

Tala shrugged. "Name your place."

"I've got a coupon for double burgers at the food court. Don't think I can't hear your gut growling, you ogre."

Tala rolled her eyes, but offering a coupon - that had to be progress, right?

XXXXX

Chomping into a juicy hamburger patty did nothing to slow Audrey's mouth. "You're a dyke, aren't you? You said you were seeing someone. So? Whose rug are you munching on?"

Tala didn't care for the choice of words, but it was the first non-monetary question Audrey had pitched, so she ran with it. "Aiko. We decided we were more than friends."

"Miss Yumi? You're screwing that messed up booze hound? Yeesh, desperate much? Guess there really are no good lesbians in town."

"Watch your language," Tala growled as she seized a fistful of Audrey's fries. "How'd you know about me and Kyanna, anyway?"

"That bitch does my hair. One week she's going on about you like you're god's gift to women, the next, you're a 'great friend'. I can read between the lines." Audrey aimed for Tala's fries to retaliate only to have her hands swatted away. "So what's so great about Miss Yumi anyway?"

"Well, I'm not gonna hit you with the lovey dovey stuff, I know romance ain't your thing, and to be frank, it's not hers either. But let's just say she's worth every second." Tala stretched her arms just long enough for Audrey to take a swipe at her fries. Shrugging off the revenge theft, Tala continued, albeit pulling her tray closer towards her.

"She's smart, funny, fit, talented, can paint her ass off, and well, you know, she knows how to please. All in all, she's a premium package." But that brought an interesting thought to the forefront. She regarded the smaller redhead with a curious brow. "Not that it's a bad thing, but why so curious?"

"I just figured perverts attract."

Tala feigned a defensive posture, throwing her hands up. "Je-sus, is that your answer to every woman better looking than you? Call them a pervert?"

"You're the one that's ugly, you giant ass ogre!"

"Says the only one here who does drugs and perpetually reeks of cigarette smoke. And bony." She glanced over Audrey's shoulder and spotted the main lobby fountain. "I bet I could shot-put you in that fountain all the way from here."

"You're barkin' up the wrong fuckin' tree if you think -what the fuck is so funny?!" the firecracker snapped when she noticed Tala was doing her damnedest to not bust out laughing.

After the laughing died down, the answer was clear. "You are so easy to piss off." But after a moment, Tala ushered away her smile for a more sincere look. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm not pushing any kind of envelope here, I'm not saying we have to be friends, just not enemies. If we can manage that, then I can do my job, and I won't be on your case. Besides, why go to school if not to learn? Or are you not getting the experience you bargained for? Come to think of it, what do you wanna do in the long run? Got that sorted out yet?"

"Jeez, interrogation much?" the agitated girl snapped before leaning back and pondering the questions. "Not much to it," she finally shrugged. "I'm here for a good time, simple as that."

"That's it?" There had to be more.

Audrey laughed. "What else is there?"

"How about getting a decent education so you're not forever leeching off of your parents? How about meeting new people and expanding your horizons? Isn't there anything more you want out of life?"

"How about a boyfriend? Someone who's hot as hell, makes a bunch of cash, and doesn't whine like a pussy when I ask 'em to buy me a new dress."

Tala shook her head. This was getting nowhere. "You're a strange little girl, Audrey Belrose, but I'm glad you're hanging out with Tiffany and Nikki." Maybe some of their sensibilities would rub off on this firebrand, and maybe she'd inspire a bit more assertiveness from that pair. "Well, thanks for the meal, or the discount at least. I've got to get going."

"So same time next week?"

Tala stopped dead in her tracks. Audrey scoffed.

"What? You think one afternoon out is enough to get you into my good graces? Fat chance. Besides, you're gonna be hanging around Nikki, and that means I'm keeping my eye on you, making sure you don't try anything weird with her."

She cracked a grin. "Consider it a date."

"Only in your dreams, asshat."

Not exactly a warm parting, but Tala still left with a crooked grin on her face. Maybe Audrey was warming up to her - in her own unique way.  _'Looks like I'll have some good news to share with Aiko.'_  She wondered what other good fortune she might find.


	8. Welcoming: Dinner with an Indian Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a two-week mission, a four-day leave to Otakon, and a weekend of work with days sprinkled in between brought us here. Back to work I go!

"Hey uh, thanks for helping me, Miss Stone."

"No problem, Chance. Thank me by doing well on the next quiz. Now go ahead and finish your lunch." With that, Tala leaned back in her chair while her curly-haired student took back his own and proceeded back to his desk to tear open his bag lunch.

Tala was in a good mood today. A really good mood. The events of last night unfolded in her mind, and everytime her mind drifted back to it, her spirits stayed at an all-time high. Not just the second epic night of loving with her lovely Ai-chan, kinks and fancies now included, but also what was said before the love-making commenced.

Aiko Yumi had finally found her dream job.

_"The Golden Falls casino put out a work ad," Aiko had explained, while her fingers trailed up and down Tala's frame, "and you're looking at their new dealer! Can't say I'm too surprised - I spent enough time there pissing away my money, I pretty much know how the whole place works. Poker, blackjack, the craps table - I'll be handling all the big money makers. If I play my cards right, they might even put me in charge of the VIP tables!"_

And it was because of her. The liberated professor has made that abundantly clear in between dances of the tongues, and with the in-detail talk of her misery and depression in the months leading up to their first meeting, Tala was all the more happy she met Aiko when she did. And now, that help paid off in the fullest. _'I only wish we met a lot sooner.'_  she would say before her Japanese lover would dive between her legs again with renewed vigor. Aiko didn't just get a job she liked, she got a job she loved. And as far as they both knew, Aiko's life was looking up for the definite better.

Things were looking up in Tala's classes as well. She was finally starting to feel like a real teacher, and her students were beginning to respect her as one. Even Audrey's trio of troublemakers had begun to soften.

"Morning, Nora, Lillian," she called to the two girls as they entered.

"Miss S, how's it hangin'?" Nora chirped. "Yo, thanks for doin' right by my cousin, ese. My girl Kyanna's been mixed up with some real shitty dudes in the past, but the way she tells it, you're the real deal."

"Hey, I been there." Tala shrugged. "Lillian, that book I lent you any good?"

"You mean that biography about the vampire hunter? It's like, whatever." the goth shrugged.

Nora laughed and clapped her friend on the back. "You bullshitter. Couldn't stop texting me last night, telling me how 'like, freakin' awesome' it was. Pretty sure you creamed your jeans just gettin' through chapter one, chica."

"Like, oh my god, could you be more of a bitch?" Lillian whined. "It's, like, above average, Miss T."

"So no interest in borrowing the second volume?" Tala teased. Lillian's eyes went wide.

"There's like, a part two? Are you serious? Omigod, I will service you right here and now if you lemmie see it!"

Tala raised her hands in defense. Onlookers were abundant. "Whoa, too much information, Lil. Just focus on acing your next quiz, and we'll call it even."

"Far out, Miss T. I am on that shit!"

Tala smiled as the duo continued on their way.  _'Nice girls, all things considered.'_  she decided, as a buzz from her cell phone drew her attention. Who could that be?

"Alright girls, go ahead and take out last night's homework and relax for a few. We'll review it in a minute." Tala instructed before she swiveled her chair around and whipped out her phone. "Hello?"

 _"Hi, Sexy."_ Ah, Aiko. Of course.

Smirking, Tala made sure to keep her voice low. "Still can't shake the thought of messing with me below the belt during class, eh? I thought the weekend was enough for you, Ai."

"T, I can't shake the thought of you, period. Got plans today, Big Sexy? I'm having some friends over to celebrate my new gig at the casino. Tiff and Nik'll be there."

Tala racked her mental schedule. "Well it's the week, so I'll be booked till ten. Late night, just the way you like it."

There was a sexually aggravated groan from the other side of the phone. "Damn Tal, you're such a tease. You don't have to help  _everyone_ , you know."

Tala's smirk broadened. "So I'm told. But it's a hell of a good thing I just so happened to come across you, right?"

"Hella good," Aiko agreed before adding a low chuckle. "And tonight's gonna be so good for you. Don't fill up on dinner, because I'm saving a special dessert for you, T."

XXXXX

Meals with Aiko were modest affairs at best, but tonight, the teacher-turned-casino dealer had pulled out all the stops, pushing all her boxes and piles of clutter into a back closet so that Tala could actually see the floor of Aiko's apartment when the door opened.

"You didn't have to do all this for me," Tala teased as she handed over tonight's bottle of wine. Aiko was dressed in her most presentable pencil skirt and a red turtlenek that hugged her breasts like a clingy lover.

"Maybe," Aiko conceded, "but our other guests would probably start organizing an intervention if they saw my day to day shit."

The other guests soon followed: Tiffany was dressed equally upscale in a pretty white blouse and pink skirt, but Nikki kept things simple with jeans and a hoodie.

"Glad you could both make it," Tala nodded.

Tiffany was all sunshine. "It's so exciting to hear that Miss Yumi's found a new line of work, though it will be sad to see her go."

"At least she's not stuck working a crap job that she hates anymore," Nikki shrugged. "Honestly, people today put too much stock in getting normal or acceptable jobs."

"There's certainly joy to be found in... 'Odd' jobs," Tal nodded from experience.

The next guest, an Indian woman, was a completely new face.  _'Wow, who is she?'_

Seeing the larger woman with a larger everything on approach, the Indian-dressed beauty stopped in her tracks. But Tala didn't stop her advance. "Hey, you're... Beli, right? The yoga instructor at the gym? Kyanna went on and on about you." That seemed to calm the slightly smaller tall drink of water quite considerably. Taking note, the amazon gave her best smile and offered a hand. "I'm Tala. Tala Stone."

The hand was accepted, and strength met softness. "I-I'm Beli. It's nice to meet you." Beli's magenta gaze shifted from one of nervousness to one of admiration. "It's a really nice thing you're doing for Aiko."

Tala's smile broadened. "We can all use a helping hand, right?"

Everyone met back up at the table, and once everyone was situated, the champagne was poured. "So Tal," Aiko started the night off, swishing her wine glass. "What's the play, now that you did your part? From what I been hearing, teaching is your call a helluva lot more than it is mine. That's for sure."

Tala shrugged her monolithic shoulders. "Well, there's a lot that goes into it. I know a thing or two about inspiring others. Lillian likes a little bit of appreciation whenever she's working out of her comfort zone, and she works well with some incentive. Nora works well when she knows you got her back, just in case."

"And Audrey?" Tala got the impression that was a challenge.

"Audrey, she..." The amazon pursed her lips, pondering the proper words. "... we're still working the kinks out. I planned to meet with her once a week. It's mostly just browsing at the mall, hoping I rub off on her. But with her little clique more focused on their work and our uh, peace offering, we're making progress."

"But Tiffany..." The blue-eyed blonde looked up from her glass. "I wouldn't have had the time or the opportunity to get through to most of them if it wasn't for her help. And Nikki's for getting me warmed up to the grading."

Nikki mumbled something indistinguishable from between bites of pasta, while the cheerleader waved off the praise with a good-natured smile. "Oh, it was nothing really. Honestly, more people need to step up and help out."

"What a wonderful sentiment," Beli nodded. "I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but there's such value in our spiritualities. As they say, we should 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'."

Aiko did her best not to giggle through her wine. "Hey, I'm all for 'doing unto others', right T?"

Tala bopped Aiko's shin under the table.  _'Oh behave.'_

"But Tala," Tiffany continued, "You're not really thinking of leaving your position, are you? I mean, you've done so much good for the class. Audrey would never admit it, but ever since you showed up, she's been doing so much better with the material. Right, Nikki?"

Put on the spot, the bluenette struggled to speak. "I mean, I guess it's been okay grading papers with you." A rosy glow spread through her cheeks. "It'd be nice if we could keep doing that... Or something."

"Oh my," Beli smiled, "It seems you're quite appreciated as a teacher, Miss Stone. I wonder if this is a calling worth keeping up with. What do you think?"

The specifics of the question made Tala's thought process come to a screeching halt. "I... never really thought about it." Coming into this, Tala's initial plan was to go in, buy some time, and... nothing. But her best just so happens to be the best thing that's happened to the students. They actually looked forward to classes, most of them, and determination was a relevant emotion when work was handed out. To leave them on such a high note would be nothing short of cruelty. "I didn't plan that far ahead."

"But what about right now, while you're still here?" Seeing it as good a time as any, Tiffany took the opportunity to raise her argument.

And as far as Tala was concerned it was a valid one. Feeling empathy for her little overachiever, she sighed. "I know, I know, I know. I don't wanna just step out on the students, especially after I got to know everyone, and after they got to know me. But the academic setting just isn't my thing. I have no problem teaching, but I gotta take a lot out of my free time to tend to the students after school and grade. And with the concept of imparting knowledge onto others, I can't just half... I can't  _not_  give it my all." The amazon quickly changed her words after reminding herself that Beli was at the table. "And it takes a lot of time and effort to work with each student. I mean, the last time me and Nikki did something interesting together was like two weeks ago."

"Yeah, but..." Tiffany tried to speak up, but her teacher slash tutor delivered a smile that cut her retort short.

"Tiff, know that I'm not gonna pass the torch unless I'm confident you'll be in capable hands. Besides, it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. If I do end up getting another permanent teacher to look over the brood, I'd be happy to meet up somewhere and study with you, Audrey, and the others at the cafe."

"Still-"

"Oh give her a break, Tiff! Tal can't do everything for everyone all the time!..." Nikki's possessive snarl took the entire table aback.

Beli took it upon herself to clear her throat and clear the air. "Well, in my yoga classes, I get a lot of enthusiastic new students. I often find myself reminding them that they don't need to compete with my advanced learners; they need to work within their own range of motion. I think that's something we can all be more mindful of - working within our limits."

The rest of the crowd nodded along, and the topic shifted, but for the rest of the evening, Tala found herself sifting through Beli's words of wisdom.

_'Working within my limits, huh?'_

XXXXX

"Thanks again for dinner, Miss Yumi. Are you sure Nikki and I can't help you with the clean up?"

"Nah, you kids run home and study. Tal offered to stick around for dishwasher duty, and she's more than enough muscle for what I need."

Tiffany and Beli chuckled politely at Aiko's comment as Tala escorted them to the apartment door. Only Nikki refrained from laughing along; instead, she gave a suspicious, sidelong glance between the Amazon and the ex-teacher.

"Everything okay, Nik?" Tala's comment shook the bluenette from her reverie.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's nothing. Um, can I call you tonight to set up our next expedition?"

"Tonight?" Tala fished around for a convenient excuse. "Yeah, sure, you've got my number. I'll talk to you later."

"Um ... okay." Still the tiny girl lingered on the doorstep, as though wanting to say more. Her lips opened suddenly when -

"Hey, T? March those gorgeous guns of yours back to the kitchen! I've got a job for you."

Nikki shut her lips and rushed out the door with a hurried, "Um, bye."

 _'Odd,'_  Tala mused. Odder still was the flash of guilt she felt as she shut the door on the bluenette.  _'I said we'd talk later tonight but ...'_

"Mmm, Tal? I'm _waiting_..."

Aiko's alluring purr settled her mind, and Tala switched her huniebee to vibrate.  _'Work within my limits.'_  she reminded herself. Right, what was she thinking, indulging in Kyu's happy fantasies about romancing multiple women? Moving in on Kyanna had been a disaster; approaching an introvert like Nikki would only give the shut-in child a heart attack.

Besides, keeping Aiko Yumi satisfied was enough to push the amazon to her limits.

Tala loosened the top buttons of her blouse. "On my way. You'd better be ready, Ai-chan."

Stepping back into the kitchen, Tala quickly approached with that salacious smirk, and without giving her girlfriend a chance to react, seized the back of her lovely ducktail hair, wrapped a strong arm around those gentle curves and mashed their lips together.

It wasn't a long, silent kiss. The lewdest of noises echoed through the now-empty apartment as both parties proceeded to wantonly eat each other's faces. But one was the clear victor as the giantess redhead backed her lover onto the kitchen counter, where her Japanese waif's back met the countertop. As Tala went down on her irresistible Asian-flavored morsel, she felt two smooth legs wrap around her waist and their hips met, ushering a muffled moan from the both of them.

The two separated with a gasp, and whereas Aiko was gasping for air, Tala's much larger lung capacity allowed her words moments after their feral lip-locking. "I know all the right buttons to push this time around." She leaned into the nape of her lover's delicate neck, grazing her teeth along the delicate skin of her ear, but not quite biting, making the panting grow ragged. "Should I make you sing, or make you scream?" The breath that the question was huskily whispered in carried hot air that caressed all corners of the hot and bothered skin.

" _Mmmmmm..._ " Aiko felt a throbbing need in her core, and even a second without the electrifying sensation of their bodies grinding together tore at her insides. A dainty hand reached in between her legs under the form-fitting skirt that was now stretched to its limit as it barely halted the much larger hips of the Irishwoman on top of its wearer. "Ohhhh, just... make me  _something_!"

"Hmmm..." Tala gave a pouty hum, her face retreating from Aiko's nape, bottom lip protruding to emphasize her feigned displeasure. "That sounds an awful lot like a demand." With a free hand she grabbed her lover's wrist at the hem of her skirt and wrenched it free from its confines. With her other hand, she grabbed the other wrist from behind her head, and held both together atop her now-prisoner's head as the ladder panted like a dog. "Care to correct yourself, my little Ai-chan?"

Tala's warning nip on the ear sent Aiko heaving.

"Ohhh, it gets me so wet when you play bad cop, T. Buuut, this is  _my_  special night, and I wanna play a new game." She sucked on Tala's lower lip a moment, relishing her lover's growl before adding, "there's a present for you in the closet. Have a look."

"Better than the present I'm about to unwrap here?" Tala whispered. It was hard to break away from Aiko, but this new development had her intrigued. Tala gave her girlfriend's breasts a parting grope before sauntering off to the closet. _'A present?'_  She didn't know whether to be flattered or fearful. Aiko had some unique kinks, to say the least. The non-descript brown paper bag sitting on the closet floor didn't give Tala any hints. The giantess knelt and peered inside. She laughed.

"You can't be serious!"

"Hella serious," Aiko grinned from behind her. "What, you've never done costumes before?"

"Not like this. I mean, a schoolgirl uniform?" Tala held up the white blouse and checkered tartan. "This is all sorts of inappropriate for you and me, you realize?"

"Maybe for you, T, but I'm out of the teaching gig." Aiko massaged her shoulders playfully. "Doesn't mean I haven't lost the itch to  _teach someone a lesson_. Pleeease?" she cooed.

Tala shook her head, but there was no denying that sexy little pout. "You owe me big time for this."

"Oh, I intend to pay you back in kind." Aiko clapped her hands gleefully. "Okay, my stuff's in the bedroom. You change in the bathroom, and meet me for class, Miss Stone. Truants will be punished  _severely_." Aiko drew a finger along Tala's neck as she spoke, scratching along a special spot that made the Amazon's breath hitch. The Asian minx just grinned. "You're not the only one who knows which buttons to push, T."

Oh, the urge to grab this feisty woman and ravage her here and now was irresistible. "Can't wait to get started," she growled.


	9. Welcoming; Chasing Audrey

Following the excursions of the past weekend, Tala was in high spirits when Tuesday came around.

The amazon held off on her pop quiz that day and just opted for study sessions. Everyone picked a topic -or in Audrey's case, topics- that they were lacking in, and after getting into respective groups, Tala and her right hand Tiffany went around class, keeping the teeny teens focused and on track. One of said students, proposed a pizza party for their good progress, and the amazonian teacher grinned and replied 'If I see no less than C pluses on the next test, than I guess I'll owe it to you.'.

But the Irishwoman's good will didn't just stretch into the academic setting. Kyanna was ecstatic to see her gym buddy back on the treadmill, warming up. "Tala! It's been waaay too long!" She departed the step ladder and made her way over to the neighboring treadmill, picking out her usual setting.

"Yeah, it has," the amazon replied, nary a sweat broken. "I'm happy to say that Nora got a B plus on her last couple of quizzes."

"Aw, really? That's awesome!" Kyanna had a pep in her step as she started her routine with a light jog. Watching that body move almost made Tala trip up. "Any plans after you're done here?"

"Meeting at the mall with one of my students. But that's for later. Now is just us besties!"

With the welcomed reminder, the Latina shrugged her shoulders, broadening her smile. "Ain't nothing wrong with that!"

And of course, after the gym, Tala followed up on her promise to pick up Audrey. Though their meet-up yesterday was sufficient for the week with their lasting deal, Tala's good mood was in it for the long haul, and she felt she had a little more good will to further mend relationships with her most problematic student.

But she'd be a fool to pull up by the dorms in a bright and bubbly demeanor.

XXXXX

"Kept me waiting long enough," Tala scowled with her hands on her hips. The red firecracker didn't even look up, she just slammed past Tala and marched onward to the parking lot. Tala grabbed the tiny girl by the arm. "Hey, I'm talking here!"

"Oh, screw off!" The force Audrey used to shove her away surprised even Tala.

It didn't take a genius to see that the little devil's usual attitude was fueled by something else. "Something up?"

"None of your fucking business," Audrey snapped, but Tala could tell the redhead was looking for an outlet. It wasn't make-up or drugs that had left her eyes looking so read and puffy, that was for certain. Sure enough, when they were settled in Tala's car, the story broke though.

"Went over to Lillan's dorm room last Saturday. I caught that goth skank giving head to Bradley. My boyfriend, if you're asking."

Tala cocked an eyebrow. "You found a new boyfriend already? That was fast."

"Yeah, well I lost that cheating dickhead just as fuckin' fast too. Worst part is that bitch Nora started taking  _her_  side, telling me 'it's no big deal, ese'. I told 'em both where they could stick it. Fuck those two whores!" Audrey kicked her heels into the car floor. Tala cringed, but allowed her to vent.

"I'm haven't had a blunt all weekend and it's pissing me off! I bought all my weed from Nora, but that bitch isn't getting any more of my cash!"

Tala nodded along, and reached across the car to open the glove compartment. "Cigarettes okay?"

Audrey looked on in shock at the pack of tobacco tossed into her lap. "Wait, you smoke Diamond Slims too?"

"No, but I noticed the packages you were tossing out all these weeks. Figured I'd pick up a pack for today. Your favorite, right?"

For once, motormouth Audrey had nothing to say. "Um ... yeah." Tala thought she heard the front end of a 'tha-', but then Audrey reached over to crank her car's radio.

"Sheesh, keeping track of my cig brands, what a creep! Well, you'd better know my favorite burger shop too, cause I'm not buying us any second-hand crap. Get movin', monkey!"

Tala cracked a smile as she pulled into reverse. It had been buried under an avalanche of insults, but she was fairly certain that little miss Belrose had just offered to buy her lunch.

In Audrey's messed-up, materialistic world, Tala was pretty sure that translated into 'thank you'.

XXXXX

"Wipe that stupid fucking grin off your face. It's bad enough I gotta be seen with you."

Making it to the food court, the duo's banter never stopped for a second. Apparently, a red button-up with navy blue jeans and boots classified as 'white trash'. Tala defended herself by regarding her look as ruggedly good. "It's bad enough I gotta be seen being your friend. You know though, I don't regret that at all, actually," She reasoned with a grin that made the smaller redhead feign a dry heave. The giant woman just shrugged. "What? It takes guts to stomp on  _my_  feet with those damned stilettos of yours. Especially when I coulda broke your neck like a chicken's."

In a scathing act of defiance, a dagger tongue shot forth from Audrey's tiny mouth, aimed directly at the larger woman. "You ain't as tough as you look, shit-for-brains."

With her long, stalwart legs, Tala drew dangerously close, and with a jolt of her posture, bumped her hips into the side of the smaller girl, making the red-eyed demon give the most adorable little 'eep!' as she stumbled for a few steps at the sudden attack. Tala's grin returned with a vengeance. "And you're not as good a manhunter as you think you are, you lonely little Chihuahua."

"The fuck's  _that_  supposed to mean?"

"If you knew how to pick 'em right, maybe you wouldn't have paired up with the class horndog. Or, god forbid," Tala's hand rose to suppress a chuckle. "Edward from Twilight!"

"Hey!" Audrey punched the solid shoulder of the amazon with enough force to trade the latter's grin with a look of bewilderment. But then Audrey immediately retracted the offending finger as if it had just been infected. "Don't give me that shit! You were making googley eyes at him! And you got the nerve to carry yourself like a raging dyke, you skank."

Tala grew exasperated. "You're one to talk! Watching you two was like watching an abusive owner with a bag of catnip! Besides," She briskly patted down her sleeves and straightened her shirt. "We all know how that night turned out."

"Yeah, you burned him to a crisp!"

"You're welcome." Reflecting on their little back-and-forth banter, Tala summed this up as the equivalent of a day at the gym with Kyanna or a night with Nikki solving mysteries. Two friends in their element, doing their thing. It was actually quite endearing whenever Audrey called her something colorful.

Not so endearing was Audrey's insistence on shopping at all of the mall's high-end fashion stores. "I want this one," the redhead declared, whipping open the changing stall door and posing in a frilly, blue sundress that barely covered her shapely legs.

"Two hundred bucks for tissue paper? Try again, princess."

"But you said you'd buy me something! C'mon, my boyfriend cheated on me! Cheer me up, you ape!" Audrey argued and haggled, but Tala had her foot firmly planted. When the little chihuahua tried making a scene by shouting, Tala just spun on her heel and walked out the door. In the end, Audrey got her sundress, but it was her own wallet that ended up feeling lighter.

"You must think you're so god-damn hilarious, going back on your promises," Audrey snapped as she stormed back to Tala's car alongside the Amazon. "You said you'd buy me whatever I wanted!"

"I never said I'd break the bank on you, princess. C'mon, I'll drive you home."

Tala sat down in her driver's seat, waiting for Audrey to walk around to the passenger door. The redhead didn't move. Eyes sharp and deadly as knives glared at Tala. If Tala had realized the vindictive thoughts brewing in the girl's mind, she would have thought twice about leaving her car unlocked. Audrey waited until Tala was busy buckling up her seat belt, then she threw open the door. Tala barely had time to utter a confused "Hey!" before the redhead's weight slammed into her lap. Forceful hands shoved Tala against the seat, and ruby lips shoved themselves against Tala's mouth.

Audrey's kiss exploded through her body, a fiery inferno of anger and passion. Tala's jaw dropped open in shock and the redhead pressed her advantage, forcing her tongue into Tala's mouth. Tala's mind spun, overwhelmed by a tempest of jumbled reactions and exploding sensations, but one thought rang clear:

_'Holy fuck, can she kiss!'_

Tala's hands went for Audrey's shoulders but the redhead seized her wrists and pinned them down. A taunting moan rippled from Audrey's throat. "Mmmmhh, you want this?" Her tongue pressed deeper into Tala's mouth, while her body shoved hard into Tala's chest.

 _'Can't breathe,'_ Tala panicked as Audrey's hips thrust roughly into her pelvis, but part of her mind would be fine without ever again receiving oxygen, if it meant this erotic massage would continue. _'More,'_ cried her mind, and Tala felt her hips thrusting back rhythmically with Audrey's wild grinding, begging for the girl's heat to come nearer, to press harder.

When Audrey finally broke the kiss and let her surface for air, Tala was a hot, panting mess. The heat between her legs was unbearable, and the damn chihuahua knew it, looking down on her so smugly with her flushed cheeks and her shit-eating grin. Thanks to their grinding session, Audrey's dress and straps had slipped clean off her shoulders, giving Tala a generous view down the redhead's cleavage. A glimpse of swollen, dark tips made made Tala lose all control. Her lips snapped forward.

They caught only empty air. Audrey was on her feet again, fixing her dress and looking disinterestedly at the Irishwoman.

"Oh, did you need something? Hmm, sucks when you can't have what you want, doesn't it?"

Message delivered, the diva pranced off in the direction of the bus stop, and Tala's legs were too numb to even follow. Audrey's coyly swishing skirt seemed to mock her with every flip and flash of hips. 'Can't have this, nuh-uh.' The girl walked away, but desire coursing through Tala's body didn't show any signs of fading. She'd been played, and she'd lost badly.

Tala slammed a fist on the console. "God. Damn it."

She wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.


	10. Fight Club: Tavern in the Woods

With a well-placed midair roundhouse to the face, Tala's opponent, in the form of a tattoo-covered beefcake on legs, fell to the concrete in a crumpled heap.

As the gathered crowd went wild at both ends of the spectrum at seeing yet another one of their moneymakers fold, the announcer took the amazon's arm and raised it high in victory to her fans. "Give it up for yo girl, the Amazon!"

Tala tried hard to roll her eyes, but a half-smirk fought just as hard to creep its way onto her face. _'Well, you're half-right...'_

"Don't get on her bad side, fellas."

The six-foot woman looked over to her opponent, a complete giant among men. She surmised that he was either Mexican or Hispanic with what little tan skin wasn't covered by tattoos of snakes. As he was helped up and carted off before she herself could lend a hand, the redhead shrugged. "That's all, folks." She marched over to the dealer, extended her waiting hand and collected her pay of a fistful of cash before throwing her jacket back on from around her waist and heading back off into the night. She wasn't naive enough to drive her car anywhere in this part of town as she stepped all over everyone's carefully-placed bets, so it was a nice and lengthy trek back uptown and out of follower range. Now was as good a time as any to cool off.

For the last several days or so, Tala had been visiting that sketchy part of town and participating in the street fights simply to blow off steam. Being on vacation from her job was manageable. But it had gone south exactly a week ago during that...  _encounter_  with Audrey following their trip to the mall, and every school day and shopping trip after that just turned into more torment, now that the little she-demon knew just how hard Tala had fallen for her. Audrey will play her like a fiddle if she wasn't careful. And for innumerable reasons, that excited the hell out of her.

But between sexy nights with Aiko, grading and hunting for supernatural sightings with Nikki, pumping iron with Kyanna, and the satisfaction of felling a foe a hundred pounds and twelve inches larger than her, the first three weren't exactly available to her every night before bed. She beat up a bunch of guys and gals, sure, but Audrey was always there the next day to remind her why she was doing it. Wearing short shorts and belly shirts and parading that petite little body of hers, making love to a lollipop with moistened tongue, cooing at her with that sickeningly innocent voice that shook the amazon from her thoughts, no matter how focused she tried to be...

 _'Goddam Frenc-'_ Tala's lament was cut short when her Huniebee rung in her jacket pocket. Feeling obligated to answer, the amazon hit talk and placed the arcane device to her ear. "Tala here."

"What it do, Nariko? How's my favorite girl keepin' it t'gether?"

Great, a check-in from her slutty fairy godmother. "I've been better, Kyu."

"Betcha yer doin' a whole lot better with all that extra green in your pocket. That's a whole lotta spendin' money for your dates, girl. Gonna get all fancy fer yer Asian dragon, or maybe we can plan out 'round 2' with that Mexican mama, hmm? Or _maybe_ ," the fairy added in her sultriest purr, "you're saving up for a certain bitchy redhead with expensive tastes."

Tala bristled. "I'm doing just fine with Aiko, Kyu. How'd you know about the money anyway; are you spying on me now?"

"Oh I was  _so_  checkin' you out tonight. I mean a bunch of hot, sweaty muscle-men stripping down to their shorts, grappling, straddling and wailing on each other? Girl, I am so into the mixed martial arts scene - it's like porn without the pay per view! Adding a fine-ass Irish tomboy to the mix just gets mah motor purrin' all the faster."

She really shouldn't have been surprised. With their mandate to inspect human relationships, love fairies probably had the most extensive surveillance network next to the GPRD.

"I don't have time for this, Pinky. Seriously."

"Oh, right! You're still on about the little firecracker that burned you last week!"

Tala's expression, if it could, fell a little further. "Not when you put it like that..."

"Oh, don't be like that, Tal! We'll get her soon! And I can be there to help you out! 'Cause let's face it; she's worked her evil magic on you." To this day, Tala was always jarred whenever Kyu jumped into 'genuine care' mode. "Oh! Just an FYI, Nariko: there's a package waiting for you back home. She's blue, nerdy and  _so_  wasn't putting up with any of this 'wait at the doorstep' shit."

"Nikki?" Odd, they didn't have any grading or mystery hunting due. What was so important that she insisted on seeing her so late, so urgently?

"Mmm, maybe you're gettin' a good ol' fashioned luv confession, Tal'. Want me to check her underwear? Betcha she picked black, just for you!"

Tala massaged her temples. "Just... don't be stupid, Kyu. I'll be back as soon as I can." She hung up, and marched with a new urgency to find a cab to hail. She didn't know what Nikki had to share, but she had a good feeling it might just prove to be the key to keeping her mind off Audrey long enough to get over the bad-mouthed beauty from Hell.

XXXXX

When she finally made it to her house, Tala strode up to her mansion of a home, keys jingling in her hasty stride.

When the door flew open, the redhead poked her head in and looked about the living room, quickly spotting the speck of blue off in the corner, sitting at the computer desk. The creaking of the door followed by the mammoth feet of the giant was enough to get the bluenette's attention as Nikki looked over her shoulder to see the woman she so urgently needed to see.

Locking the door behind her, Tala looked about for the pink-haired nymphomaniac that had initially called her, only to look back to her nerdy little companion when she saw no sign of the former. "Hey Nikki, I came as soon as I-" the redhead began, but stopped herself when the nerd girl urgently waved her over like a child summoning their parent to the toys aisle. Pursing her lips, Tala obeyed, and soon found herself leaning over the back of Nikki's chair, thankful her combat bun stopped her hair from being an irritation. "So what's this I was rushed home for, Nik?"

Nikki was effectively zenned out for a moment when she felt two firm, solid somethings ever so gently press against her upper back. Daring not to turn and affirm what they were, she dealt with the burning in her cheeks and opted to face forward, focusing again on her laptop. "W-well um... I think I... found another cool sighting." Quickly, the bluenette got her momentum back as the subject matter became a more prominent thought, and as she zoomed in on the location presented on google maps, the detail came in, and it appeared to be a building out in the middle of the Glenberry forest.

Stroking her chin, Tala narrowed her eyes, trying to make sense of it. There wasn't even a name for the location. "It would be easy to mistake something like that for an old park center or a lumber camp. What's there to say about it?"

"Well, everything's just rumor, but about five months back, this local LARP group did a weekend camp-out in the woods, and their members kept noticing weird figures out in the distance. One girl said she saw a guy with super-realistic elf ears; another saw a short, bearded guy that had a perfect dwarf cosplay, and a third said there was some huge, piggish guy that she swears had green skin."

"An elf, a dwarf and an orc," Tala summarized. "Curious to see those three in the same area without signs of a turf war."

"But … those don't really exist, do they?"

Tala could only smile. Even after meeting a vampire and a love fairy, Nikki still had her psyche half-tethered to the possibilities of the 'real world'; a world that declared itself exclusively human.

"Hey, Tolkien didn't pull his fantasy races out of thin air, Nik. Goblins, gnomes, halflings – they're all out there. Some keep to themselves in the wilderness; others try to blend in by way of magic or cosmetics. Some fit so well they've even bred and produced mixed races. I'm actually half-Amazon on my mother's side."

"Amazon? You're an actual … okay, I guess that explains why you're so huge and love to fight so much."

"Well, I'm also Irish."

"Ah."

"But Amazons aren't the only race that's mingled with humans," Tala continued. "Heck there's even a good chunk of liminal races – human/animal hybrids."

"Hybrids? You mean minotaurs or satyrs?"

Tala winced. "Well… those more exotic species went extinct long ago. Nowadays, it's more along the lines of canines and felines."

"Feline? Wait … you're telling me Earth actually has cat-girls?"

"Better than that," Tala declared with a smile and a wink. "We've got  _sexy_  cat-girls."

Nikki wrinkled her nose. "Okay, now I know you're pulling my leg. Anyway, I put together all of the LARPers' info, and all of those reported elves and dwarves would've been heading towards this site; towards this building."

"So either it really is abandoned, or whoever's there is an expert at covering their tracks." The redhead smirked back down at her little blue sidekick. "I'm down for checking it out if you are."

XXXXX

Twenty four hours later, she and Nikki were hiking through the underbrush in full excursion gear - Tal in her camouflage fatigues, Nikki in grubby pants and a hoodie. The abandoned building lay in the clearing ahead, and Tala buzzed with giddy goosebumps to note that light was beaming from every window.

"I don't see any cars or anything," Nikki whispered as peeked out from the thicket. "But there's music and voices from inside. How'd they all get here?"

"Probably the kind of clientele that make a habit out of wilderness walks," Tala mused. Nikki followed her pointer finger to the open door, and the seven foot wall of muscle propped up in the frame.

"Is that ... a werewolf?" Nikki's hushed voice was in awe.

"Even better - a half-orc." In a muscle shirt and slacks, his muscular, green skin was on full display below his ape-like brow and snorting nostrils. A brute by any stretch of the imagination, and a fitting pick for guard duty.

Nikki squealed. "This must be some sort of monster meeting place! Ohmigod, Tala we've got to get photos for my blog!"

"I can get you better than that - how about an inside scoop?" Tala brazenly pushed her way into the clearing, shrugging off Nikki's protests. "Relax, I recognize this guy."

The minute Tala hit the grass, the half-orc's nostrils twitched at her scent. She strode up confidently, and while Nikki braced herself for the coming smack-down, the orc simply grinned.

"Well, well," he growled with a Mexican accent, "the Amazon. Y'nearly busted my jaw the other night, humie. Cost me a lot of money." He extended a tanned arm covered in snake tattoos, and Tala returned his firm handshake.

"I had a feeling you were a non-human after that right hook. You work the street circuits much?"

The half-orc shrugged. "Pain in the ass keeping myself presentable in public, but beating up you lightweights pays the bills." He raised a brow, crossing his arms. "How'd you find this place, man?"

"I have a well-connected friend. Always the first to hear the new supernatural rumors."

"Lovely, a blogger," he sneered as Nikki found her courage and toddled up beside Tala. A throaty growl sent the bluenette ducking behind Tala's legs.

"This a watering hole?" she asked.

"Only the finest orc draught and elven brandy in the state. I should warn ya - management's got a policy about serving humans."

"No service?" Nikki gulped, and Tala rolled her eyes.

"Nikki, they  _serve_  humans here."

"... oh."

The bluenette's tiny squeak sent the orc bouncer roaring with laughter. "Relax - after that beating yer ox friend gave me last night, no one's gonna wanna mess with you. I'll getcha in, but your cameras and phones stay with me," he added, killing Nikki's fleeting joy.

As they exchanged their backpacks for green, plastic wristbands - 'do not eat' stickers, Tala mused - The bouncer had a final whisper for her ear. "We don't just serve drinks, y'know. Got a ring set up in the basement. Always lookin' fer fresh blood, if you've got the stones to go up against actual full-breeds."

Tala cocked an eyebrow. An underground fight club, sponsored by and catering to pure-blooded monster fighters?

Oh, she was going to burn off so much steam tonight.

XXXXX

When Tala opted to join in on the festivities, her weight class put her up against opponents of at least somewhat similar dimension. And even though she'd taken down creatures as large as elephants and many times as dangerous, she usually had good equipment, a solid strategy, and in most cases, a team to fight alongside. To her credit, the weight class she was in kept humanoid opponents, so she assumed she'd be up against orcs, elves, or preferably amazonians.

When she finally stepped into the octagon, goaded by cheers and applauds, Tala found herself facing off against a fellow amazon, as impeccable a specimen of fortitude and womanhood as herself, except a foot taller and menacingly larger. "Tala, was it? For a half-blood, you seem in-tune with your heritage." the raven-haired she-hulk mused in her observation of her opponent, voice pitches deeper, accent heavy as she cracked her knuckles, each pop as loud and sharp as a breaking tree.

Tala rolled her shoulders, loosening up her own taut muscles. "So are you..." Between the beefy curves, that giant bosom, and the way her belted toga just left so much to the imagination, Tala found it hard to focus. The thought of arms larger than her own embracing her was distracting to say the least. Feeling the back of her head to make sure her messy bun was still intact, the half-blood lowered into her stance. "Ready."

XXXXX

As Tala and her opponent went toe-to-toe, Nikki watched the fight with the widest eyes she could muster. And with every passing second, the situation around her sunk in. She was in a World of Warcraft guild, enjoying a super powered beatdown alongside a mixed bag of everything on and off her blog.

And come to think of it, she was glad she couldn't take pictures or record on her phone. Knowing the reclusive toxicity that populate the internet, if she blabbed about this slice of fantasy heaven out in the woods, it'd likely be ruined with every spectacle here forced to relocate, and that was the last thing she'd ever want.

But not only was she living a dream, she was also enjoying this dream with her dear friend that made this all possible. Tala Stone. That was a phrase in her head that made her spine tingle. And following that phrase, her thoughts drifted to their time together. Long hours together grading, walks out into the unknown, and there's always talking it easy at her apartment with two controllers and an old-school Nintendo.

"Forgive my intrusion, but what iz a human doing in a place like zhis?"

Nikki whipped her head to the side and jumped back, startled by the strange, ghostly woman who had somehow sat down at her table without her noticing. 'An albino?' Nikki wondered, judging by the slim woman's milk-white skin and short mop of snowy hair. Pale, red eyes scanned Nikki from under a long crop of bangs. She was slim like a ballerina, and dressed in a black bodysuit that seemed to melt into the bar's dimly lit surroundings. The French waif wasn't much taller than Nikki, but definitely older, and the way she looked down on Nikki with a calm smile made the gamer girl sweat buckets. This was clearly a regular patron, and she was the outsider.

"H-human?" Nikki gulped, remembering Tala's warning about the bar menu. "N-nah, you've got it all wrong! I'm a - a ... love fairy, yeah! This is just my human form. Didn't want to make a scene with the wings and all."

Rather than deflecting attention, her lie seemed to catch the Frenchwoman's interest. "Un fae d'amour? Si interesente. Ah you here wi' a client, Madame -?"

"I'm Nik - er, I mean um ... Audrey! Yeah, Audrey Sapphire. Lady Audrey Sapphire. I'm kind of a big deal up in the Seelie court." Desperate for a break, she gulped at her tankard of beer - gnomish ale, the bartender had said, and she still wasn't sure if the recommendation was a jab at her height. The liquid courage did its job, though, and she felt new confidence ease her into the conversation. "You must be a siren," she declared. "Or a banshee? No, definitely a siren!"

The pale woman flashed a wicked smile. "You must forgive me if ah do not ... how do you say? 'Kiss und tell'? Ah woman must have her secrets, n'est pas, Madame Sapphire?"

"Oh, um yeah. Totally. Feminine mystique and all that, um ...?"

"Amelie."

"Audrey! Oh, I already said that, didn't I?" How strong was this gnomish ale anyway? "Well, I'm Audrey."

Amelie smiled, and Nikki decided the woman must be an angel to ignore her drunken antics. Nikki sipped on her drink and the people watched the various clients, making small talk about the weather or the difficulties of 'passing' in human cities. Nikki thanked her lucky stars for all the hundreds of hours she'd logged into her fantasy RPGs. She and her beer-fogged mind must have spewed so much crap about politics and going-ons in fairy world, but Amelie seemed to be buying every line. It was a sweet relief when a certain red haired fighter took to the ring and gave Nikki and excuse to move the conversation.

"Hey, that's my client in the ring - Tala."

The instant Amelie spied the Amazon fighter, her pleasant smile cut to a sharp frown. Nikki yelped as her collar was yanked across the table, forcing her directly into the sight of Amelie's furious red eyes.

"Ah word of advice to you and your 'client', Mademoiselle Sapphire. Stay  _far_  away from zhis establishment. Return again, and ah cannot promise your safety."

Then Nikki found herself shoved to the floor, coughing and sputtering among the sawdust. When she righted herself - a feat, considering her drunken mind - Amelie was nowhere to be found.

"Nikki!" The friendly cheer came from Tala, sauntering up to her table with a crazed grin, a fistful of cash, and a nice collection of bruises and cuts along her face. "Next round's on me - champion of the humanoid weight class!" Her smile faltered. "What's wrong, Nikki? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Where'd she go?" Nikki's voice came in frightened snaps. "That woman - the albino?" The one who'd just threatened her life and Tala's.

Tala only scratched her head quizzically. "Nikki, what're you talking about? I was keeping an eye on you all this time. You've been sitting here all by yourself."


	11. Fight Club: The Blue-Skinned Champion

"But I know what I saw!" the bluenette cried, worried that her sentiment would fall on deaf ears. She was just threatened by an albino China doll, and she'll be damned if that meant she would never come back to this place.

But fortunately for her, Tala was the reasonable type. "Well, far be it from me to dismiss a concern, especially given that we're in a place like this. Tell ya what," she began, approaching Nikki and draping an arm over the Bluenette's shoulders, not paying attention to the nerd girl's intense blush as her face was almost pressed into her side. "We'll come back tomorrow, and I'll stick by you the whole night. Whoever threatens you will have to go through me. How's that sound?" The gesture was accented by a friendly black rub.

"Well... okay." As good a plan as any, and they'll likely be able to learn more about the forest tavern and its extra-human occupants.

Wanting her pint-sized companion to drop her concerns, Tala grinned and gave Nik a reassuring pat on the back. "Hey, lighten up. Don't let a bad apple ruin your fantasy. This is something you've been dreaming of all your life, right? Don't let some specter haunt your house of dreams. Besides, who's gonna pick a fight with me?" By now, the two ate poltergeist for breakfast, and the Champion of the humanoid weight class was a bit of a hefty title to carry.

Without too much else to say, Nikki nodded, and the duo departed. Recollecting their collateral at the front, Tala and Nikki headed back out into the forest, the nerd girl sticking close, but not saying a word. After a number of excursions that began just like so, sticking close to Tala was Nikki's standard operating procedure.

But after the silence became too unbearable for Tala, the amazon held her companion close again as they walked. "Still thinking about your mysterious admirer?"

"How can I not?"

Tala hummed sympathetically. Seemed she wouldn't be the only one who'd be losing sleep over a mysterious and dangerous woman. "Well... what did she look like?"

Thinking back to the encounter, those piercing red eyes surged to the forefront of her mind. "Albino with her white hair and red eyes. And she was really skinny in her black catsuit. I figured she was some kind of spirit. Or half-spirit or whatever."

Tala took in the information, and for some reason, her mind filled that form-fitting leather suit with Audrey's nasty smirk and silky red hair. _Still thinking of what you can't have?_  the spy girl Audrey taunted as her hands caressed the black leather pressing against her chest. The imaginary diva's grin cranked up to eleven as she turned and bent at the hips mocking Tala as she stroked her perfect, round-

Tala shook her mind clear. _Albino. Older._  She scolded herself. In a crowd of orcs, elves, vampires, and dwarves, someone like that wouldn't stick out too well, but that would present a unique profile to scan for in a crowd. Shouldn't be too hard to find. "Interesting profile. I'll have to look it up."

With that dilemma addressed, Nikki desperately wanted to change the subject. "So Tala... how does your job work? Is it like active duty or you just do whatever until you're called?"

Tala anticipated a question like that for a while. "Before I get into that, let me start off by saying that government travel cards are your best friend."

XXXXX

The next evening began with a familiar song and dance; arriving at the forest stronghold, surrendering their electronics, and sitting down at a table with their aptly-named drinks. The only difference now was that Tala was greeted as a minor celebrity.

"The Amazon!" crowed a small goblin. "I won big on you last night!"

"Back ta try the ring again, are ye lass?"

"I'm betting everything on you t'night, humie!"

Nikki watched as Tala laughed off her admirers. "Sorry boys, but I'm just here for the drinks tonight." There were groans and pleas, and eventually the half-orc bouncer from the other night had to chase off Tala's groupies with a sharp glare. Nikki inwardly acknowledged she was in his debt for clearing out the smelly dwarves and gremlins.

"Um, thanks, uh -?"

"Nero," he replied before looking to the redhead. "Seems you've made quite a name for yourself, Amazon. Everyone's looking forward to your next fight, including the higher ups."

"Really?" Tala laughed. "I figured they'd be ready to string me up for taking out the house champion and upsetting their bets."

"You get the crowd excited, and that keeps the money flowing in," Nero countered with a wicked smile. His beady eyes narrowed. "You're pretty familiar with us extra-humans. Ever met a satyr?"

Tala's beer stein froze in mid-air, and Nikki swore she saw a flash of shock across her friend's face.

"What, you mean one of those goat-people? Nero, we all know they went the way of the dodo. Haven't been around since ancient times."

"Right. Just like orcs." Nero glanced around, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "The fight ring last night? That was just the amateur circuit. The boss keeps a private ring in the basement for his preferred patrons. The contestants lined up there are ... out of this world."

"And you have a satyr?" Tala did her best to keep a poker face, but Nikki could see the child-like glee creeping through her mask.

Nero shrugged. "Truth be told, I don't know what in the stygian pits she is, but that's what we're calling her. After that little show you put on last night, the boss wants you in the match. You'll be compensated - even the losers walk away with five figures."

Tala tried to keep herself composed, but Nero was winding her up like a clockwork doll. Nikki could see her thrumming with energy. And yet - "Sorry Nero, but I promised my friend here we'd take it easy tonight. Maybe some other-"

"You should go." Nikki wasn't sure what possessed her to speak up, but the excited look on Tala's face told her it was the right decision.

"You sure?" the Amazon countered.

Nikki couldn't deny that Tala would've been happy keeping watch over her like papa hawk, but a dainty hand was raised in assurance. "Positive," Nikki nodded back. "Go beat up this goat girl, or whatever. You've earned it."

Nero nodded and slipped over two plastic cards. "Take the stairs out back. These'll get you through the security check." Nikki tried to slide hers back - she'd had her fill of grimacing as Tala took blow after blow to the head - but the half orc had already walked away.

"I'll just... finish my drink. You go. I probably just dreamed up that woman from the other night."

And so Tala was off, leaving her alone at the table with two tankards of dwarven beer, and the useless security card. Nikki tossed it into the sawdust-strewn floor.

The card flew back onto the table.

"What the-?" Nikki's words caught in her throat as an unseen hand fastened around her neck.

"Ah warned you, cherie." The Frenchwoman's voice hissed in her ear, though Nikki could see no one behind her. "Ah told you never to return to zhis place if you valued your life. Still though -" The security card floated off the table, as though by unseen magic. "Perhapz you can be of some use to me ..."

XXXXX

Tala descended the stairway into the lower levels, security pass clutched tightly in hand.

The deafening thuds of her combat boots bounced up and down the stairway with each passing step, and she was convinced if she stopped walking, she'd hear her own heartbeat.  _'All good in the way of secrecy.'_

Looking around, the stairway was surprisingly well-kept. Once you get past the rust, leaves, and over all decrepit look of that first flight, the second stairwell and down were actually maintained. She figured it was to discourage prying eyes.

When she finally reached the bottom, about six flights down, she ran into security posted at the entrance. Two more orcs. But unlike Nero, these two weren't the conversational type. One simply asked for her pass, she presented it, and they unlocked the door without saying another word. Tala thrummed with giddy energy, aching to see just what -and who- was down here.

So she proceeded down the following corridor, grinning ear to ear at how the metal was illuminated as she proceeded, and reaching the thick-looking metal door at the other end, Tala tapped the green pad to the right, there was a few seconds of waiting, and then it slid open with a hiss and a groan of machinery. 'Out of this world indeed.'

The door opened up to a busy lobby, and the first thing that caught Tala's eye were the people that were gathered here. Unlike the cultured bar upstairs that was run and enjoyed by all corners of myth and folk, regardless of their standing, the patrons here all appeared to be, for lack of a better word, rich. Everyone here, beast, mer, or otherwise, wore expensive, or otherwise advanced looking suits, outfits, and even just accessories for the  _very_  different otherwise.

It was so much to take in at once, Tala quickly found herself seated in the nearest corner, playing the fly on the wall. Some mer and beastfolk here, she recognized as part of myth, like the cute elf waitress she just passed on her way to her seat, or the lamia at the other end of the lobby who was standing high on her tail, talking down to someone in her clique.

But others, she'd never seen in GPRD species manual, and these were the ones who wore the sleek attire with the glowing lights.

 _'Some sort of human-sized dinosaur... a hulking squid creature with probably a beak under that plume of tentacles... yup, they're aliens.'_  Try as she might, there wasn't a taxonomy that she could put most of these creatures into. And she's been around, to say the least.

More looking around led the amazon to following a pattern. Everyone Tala could recognize wore the same dark grey outfit with trims of varying colors, albeit modified versions for their physiology, like the aforementioned lamia. But everyone else, the ones she couldn't recognize, wore anything from light-up suits to floating pieces of whatever orbiting some parts of their body. And this distinction made doubly clear one crucial detail.

Tala's grin returned as she stood back up.  _'Out of this world indeed.'_

"Something to drink, m'lday?"

Tala glanced at the Elven waitress with barely concealed glee. "Aliens. They're aliens!"

The elf girl's patient smile told that she'd weathered this conversation many times before. "We're all but visitors to this green earth, m'lady. Some of us just had farther to travel."

Tala squealed like a girl on Christmas day. "I get to fight an alien!" She was craning her neck left and right trying to get a good look at the fighting arena, but it was impossible to snag a glance. Maybe the elf knew more. "This 'satyr' character, what's she like?"

The waitress drew back in alarm. "The champion? Only that she's as merciless as she is beautiful, m'lady. If Sir Drek's chosen you to fight that beast, you'd best be on your guard. Dear me, here she comes."

There was a commotion from the upper-class patrons as an unseen intruder began shoving her way through the bar crowd. The lamia hissed, a minotaur grunted, a seven-foot orc cried out. Each was more gigantic and monstrous than the last, but each was swept aside like trash as the newcomer advanced on Tala's table. The elf waitress squeaked and hurried aside, and there she was - face to face with the satyr, the Champion.

"You are Ta-la Stone, are you not? I was informed that my opposition tonight would be a human being. I was not aware that your species was quite so ... pathetic-looking."

Tala had been expecting a curly-haired goat man with fuzzy hooves and a drunken slur. This satyr was a she, and the steely-eyed glare of her amber eyes told that  _she_  was all business. Yes, she had horns curling around her ears, and yes, her shapely legs ended in onyx hooves, but otherwise the white-haired beauty broke all the stereotypes of the goofy goat-person.

For starters, her skin was blue.

"And you're the champion," Tala snorted back. "I see it as fair to warn you that looks can be deceiving."

Tala rose to her full height, showing off the good five inches she had on the alien. From her new vantage she had the perfect angle to scan the blue woman's curvy, alien outfit – a white, whip-hugging dress outfitted with electronic sensors.

"I must say, I find your bravado to be amusing, and your lack of fear to be... adorable." The champion purred as she crossed her arms across her chest. A button popped under the strain, and Tala grinned shamelessly at the generous view of alien cleavage.

"You're probably used to horns, tails and teeth in your opponents, but I'm every bit as qualified to be here as you are." Amazons, as mythology recognized them, were dedicated combatants of any form. Combined with the more human ability to learn and adapt, and her ancestors had been rightly unstoppable.

"To who do I owe the pleasure of fighting in the ring?" Tala asked, leaning back in her seat.

Those bright amber eyes maintained a glare as sharp as her horns, but for one reason or another, she gave her name. "I am Celeste."

Tala's grin only grew. "Well Celeste, I fight for fun. And fighting you will be nothing short of the highlight of my week."

Akin to an actual ram, Celeste huffed, her voice not only bemused, but downright dangerous. Those amber eyes looked like they could set fire to something. "Such naivety will make the night you face me your last."

But Tala  _was_  fire, if her hair was any indication. Lowering herself back into her seat, she relaxed, looking back up at her soon to be competition. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

The amazon's upbeat demeanor seemed to do nothing but add to the danger in Celeste's voice. "We shall see indeed." Without another word, the alien woman turned and departed, cutting her way back through the crowd, the surrounding folk having watched the exchange now muttering amongst themselves, making bets and small-talk. Tala herself watched her go as well, and now that her back was turned, the redhead couldn't help drinking in the sway of those curvy hips, or the mouth-watering tone of those shapely blue legs.

"She is a thing of beauty, that. But I am moreso glad she is not my opponent." the waitress spoke up after the champion disappeared into the crowd. "You're among the few to actually smile at her. She is champion, and for good reason." No doubt everyone here watched her fight, and they seem to fear and respect her, even the other challengers.

But it wasn't above Tala to pick a fight with the best.


	12. Fight Club: Monstrous Opposition

For the fights last night, the bar had cleared out the tables and chairs from one corner of the lounge, leaving the fighters to duke it out in the sawdust-strewn floor. Now that Tala was fighting in the big leagues with high roller patrons, an actual arena was in order.

Tala was escorted by the elven waitress deeper into the building where wood turned to metal, and the rustic parlor style aesthetic made way for something modern and sleek. Tala stopped at an octagonal ring. Plexiglas walls gave the spectators a perfect view of the match while keeping the carnage contained. "Including you and the champion, there are eight competitors in this tournament," she explained. "Three days. Three rounds."

"So that satyr Celeste will be in on the action." Tala surmised.

"Indeed. You may face her first, you may only get your chance in defeating your other opponents." For some reason, the elf girl averted her eyes as she replied.

The lounge patrons were gathering around the arena windows, a mix of Earth creatures and even more bizarre alien spectators. The elf girl quickly exited and locked the arena entrance. On the opposite side of the octagon, another waitress had escorted Tala's first-round rival - the proud lamia she'd seen boasting to her friends in the lounge.

"A humie? Thisss'll be quick," the snake-woman cackled as she stood on her tail, raising to an imposing height. The tip of her snake half thumped the arena floor like a scaly club, eager to strike.

"You have no idea," Tala murmured under her breath.

The instant the announcer called their names and counted down the match, Tala lunged for the snake-woman's tail, which reared back in turn to slam her like a spring-loaded trap. At the last second, Tala dodged with a springy side-step, and before the massive whip-like appendage could strike again, Tala planted a foot atop the tail and dashed along the scaly roadway. A flying leap allowed her to seize the snake woman's human half in a bear hug, and the forceful lunge sent them both crashing to the floor.

"Damn insssect," the lamia cried as Tala shoved her face into the ground and twisted her arm behind her back, ushering a aggravated cry from her opponent. The crowd cheered and hollered, but the lamia wasn't done yet. Her tail writhed blindly, trying to swipe Tala off her back.

 _'Time to finish this.'_  Tala surmised, delivering blow after blow to the back of the lamia's head until her thrashing tail went limp and her human half slumped to the floor.

In short order, the match was won, but the crowd's shouting only grew in volume and bloodlust. The half-conscious lamia groaned as she looked up at Tala, who began to rise from her hold.

"Well? Do it, already." she coughed.

Tala drew back, suddenly realizing what the waitress had meant about "eliminating" her opposition.

Feeling the pressure in her head go back down, Tala stood up and stepped back from her defeated opponent. And that sparked an adverse reaction in the audience.

Upon realizing that two combatants would be leaving the arena alive, the crowd quickly bombarded with the basso sound of boos and ear-splitting hisses. Were it not for the Plexiglas, she'd also have been bombarded by the food and drink of the patrons.

Rather than viewing their disapproval in a negative light, Tala wore the biggest grin as she bowed and blew kisses, which only seemed to further aggravate the crowd. The sheer audacity of this woman made the lamia hiss in utter contempt.

Tala, in turn, offered the woman a hand. "Are you alright?"

Despite the lamia's brief moment of conflict, she reaffirmed her glare and swatted away Tala's supportive hand before immediately regretting her action as a migraine shot through her scaled hood. "Kindness will get you killed, amazon. You've already lost your fans," she panted, clutching her head.

Raising a brow, Tala shrugged. "Screw them. They have all of space to kill each other in. And killing you wouldn't be the fun part of our little dance."

As sound as that logic was, there was still one unavoidable fact. "This is an arena. One lives, one dies," the snake woman argued, picking herself up off the ground with the help of the wall.

"And I imagine you'd rather be alive. So would I."

There were often negative repercussions when you came into someone else's place and started dictating policy, but what the hell else could she have done? She never got tired of fighting(there was a reason thoughts of Audrey kept pumping through her head), it was that, not the kill, that excited her. And unless they were something along the lines of a serial killer, totally screwed in the head, she preferred not to kill. Damian the lady killer was a prime example. But that aside, Tala felt good knowing she kept herself in check in places like this.

XXXXX

"Miss, it is quite the surprise you spared your opponent," Cerene piped up as she poured the redhead a brew of Irish ale.

"We're not in ancient times, Cerene."  _'I suppose that's why this place is underground,'_ she thought to herself as she took a hearty swig of the stiff drink. Morals were good and all, but when something weighed heavy on one's mind, a stiff drink did well in numbing one's worries.

"If only the people here shared your sentiment."

"I don't see why I should stop. Who knows? The audience might like a good redemption story."

Pay-per-view wrestling wasn't always just two guys -or gals- duking it out until a three-count sounded. There were people to root for, people to root against, but gladiatorial entertainment was possible without someone getting killed at the end of each match.

Maybe it was simply her take on the matter, or the effect she had on people, but Tala's good will seemed to rub off on the waitress as she gave Tala a hopeful smile before scampering off to service the other bar-goers.

As she watched her elven acquaintance depart, Tala took a moment to think. She'd gotten quite a bit of flak for refusing to kill, but she also got some pats on the back from some of her fellow combatants after she made it back to the lobby. She'd dispatched her opponent, whom the roster identified as Nagessa, with nary a scratch and in only a few moves. That might have informed them as to just who they were dealing with, and who would be fighting Celeste later in the tournament. And Nagessa was presumably a force to be reckoned with in her own right, with how she carried herself before the match.

Though not every opponent had been impressed.

"You are weak, Tala stone."

Ah, Celeste. She was one of the few who hadn't yet put in her two cents.

Sitting up in her seat, Tala found the blue alien leaning against the seat across from her. "I prefer the term sensible, Celeste." she replied, trying to gauge the champion's motives for speaking to her. And taking another sip.

Tala couldn't place her finger on it, but Celeste didn't seem like the bloodthirsty type either. But it only served to give the amazon pause when Celeste asked her next question. "Why spare a gladiator who would have killed you without a second thought?"

Nonetheless, Tala's answer came naturally. "Honey,  _everything_  I fight would have killed me without a second thought."

"Curious. We shall see how far your 'sensibilities' take you in the tournament." With that, the blue alien stalked back towards the fighting cage. Her own match was about to commence, and Tala was eager to see. She wanted a front row look at Celeste's fighting style, but a familiar presence at her side made her pause and brighten.

"Nikki! So you decided to watch after all."

"Yes. I mean, yup. I mean -" she swallowed nervously. "- yeah, I'm here to watch ... and stuff."

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." For some reason, Tala's joke seemed to put the girl further on edge. Her back went ramrod stiff and her glasses nearly fell off her face in fright.

"Ghosts? Me? Nope, nuh-uh. No way. Totally fine. I'm totally fine." Then she started laughing to try and ease the tension. If anything, the awkwardness grew along with Tala's bewilderment.

Applying a steady hand to the bluenette's upper back and the other to her stomach, Tala helped her loosen up her stiff posture, taking the nerd girl's blush as a good sighn. "C'mon Nick. I think we know each other better than that."

"I'm ... just a little nervous," Nikki clarified. "About you getting hurt, I mean."

"Aww, relax. Look, I just got through my first match - no worse for wear. C'mon, let's go back upstairs and I'll tell you all about it."

"NO!"

Nikki's cry startled them both. "I mean ... no thank you. I'd rather stay and watch the next match. I need to see everything."

Tala frowned. Simple brawls to exhaustion were one thing, but apparently, this combat sport was to the death. Not what she was expecting. "All right," she relented, "but if you can't handle it, we'll leave, got it?"

"Je sais."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I know," Nikki repeated, nervously glancing over her shoulder. "C'mon, the match is starting, right?"

Again, Tala frowned, but went along with the younger girl. Her fighter status meant the crowds parted readily for them, and soon they were up against the Plexiglas walls as Celeste, the champion, was introduced.

The alien's opponent was a creature that turned Nikki's jitters into shock. "Is that a ... scorrow?"

"A person with a giant scorpion for an ass? Yeah."

The half-woman looked like anything within five feet of her front might as well be inside of a giant food processor with those giant crab-like claws on her bottom half. And unlike lamias, a girtablilu, or a girtablilu as Nikki preferred, was covered in a thick exoskeleton all down her scorpion physiology, and from the looks of it, it would take nothing short of a pickaxe to get through it. 'Or Celeste's piston kicks.' But Tala didn't go for the lower half when she fought the lamia, and presumably, neither would Celeste with this one.

And that was the case as the fight began. The scorpion woman charged forth with her tail ready to stab anything her claws couldn't grab, but Celeste dodged both, jumping back on springy legs before launching herself forward as the tail recoiled from the miss.

Celeste's first attack, a lunging kick, was hastily blocked by one of those armored claws, before the other snapped at her, intent to sever a limb. But Celeste's counterattack turned into an all-out assault as her legs turned into the inner workings of a machine gun, cloven feet hammering against thick chitin, pushing the enemy back, leaving with cracked, damaged defenses. Celeste then pressed her advantage with a quick hook and an uppercut before jumping back to avoid a reactive tail.

Tala was impressed. "I can see the merit." Celeste was fast. So fast, she slipped through defenses with the awareness and reflexes of an attentive cat, and hit with the force of a charging bull.

The scorrow thought she'd try a broad sweep with her massive tail by using her eight legs to spin her large arachnid frame around, but the blue huntress saw the move coming from a mile away. As soon as the tail came around, Celeste dashed forward, akin to a pounce.

The blue alien flipped forward, bringing her foot to the scorrow's temple with the accuracy of a surgeon. The girtablilu's heavy frame crumpled to the ground like a pile of rocks strung together. Needless to say, she was down for the count. But whether he was alive was an entirely academic matter.

Tala released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I definitely see the merit."

All around them, the crowd's bloodlust was rising again. Fists pounded on the Plexiglas walls like a mad heartbeat - "kill, kill, kill!"

Celeste took her time fulfilling the final blow - she sauntered around the crumpled fighter, eyeing the crowd for any watching competitors and locking stares. When her golden orbs found Tala, Celeste seized the girtablilu by her hair and yanked her upright, eliciting a scream from the barely breathing half-breed. The amazon felt her heart hitch in her chest as Celeste dragged the scorpion woman across the floor and slammed the woman's bruised and bloodied face into the glass for all to see. The message was etched clearly in Celeste's dismissive smirk: 'The same will happen to you, human.'

Tala sucked in her breath as Celeste pulled the scorpion woman's head back, one hand clasped around the chin, the other behind the head. Without a moment's hesitation, Celeste jerked her hands outward, and with a sickening snap audible enough to give the bloodthirsty audience pause, the monster woman slump to the ground, wearing an expression of agony, but alltogether lifeless.

The crowd's adulations turned to boos and jeers, but Celeste didn't give a damn. Tala understood that the performance had been for an audience of one.

Her.

_'Killing a weakling like you isn't worth the effort.'_

A cocksure grin spread across Tala's face. "We'll see about that, Miss Champion. ... Nikki?"

She just caught the bluenette bolting through the crowd in the direction of the washroom.

And just like that, Tala's focus was no longer on her enemy.  _'Dammit, how could I let her see that?'_

XXXXX

After vomiting into the nearest sink, Nikki removed her glasses and washed her face. Even without spectacles, she could still see the image of the scorpion woman's bloodied face. The gruesome image was permenantly stamped into her mind.

_'That'll be Tala...'_

When she found the strength to put on her lenses and look up into the mirror, a second face - pale, ghostly flesh and frosty bangs - stared down on her.

"I can't let Tala keep coming here," Nikki pleaded.

"Now you know ze danger."

That French accent could do nothing to muffle the blunt seriousness of her tone, and she was definitely right. Though there was always an underlying tone of unease, even upstairs in the no-killing arena, Nikki had still carried on and tried her best to indulge herself in one of her lifelong fantasies. But it seemed that life was always determined to shove a lethal dose of reality down her uneager throat. And it made her sick.

The bluenette could feel the nausea and the migraine intensifying as she felt her stomach backflip for another round of vomiting. She grabbed a handful of her locks, doing her best to will away her body's urge to cleanse itself. "I-I didn't think that she'd kill her! Tala didn't!" she exclaimed, lowering her eyes down into the sink so she could get a handle on her thoughts again. It did her service, as she reflected on her words. 'Tala didn't.' The thought and sight of her champion and friend sparing her opponent, helping the lamia up, and even giving her advice went a long way in easing her mind. She'd smile, but then she'd remember not long after when the scorrow stopped moving.

The pale woman's gaze hardened, those red eyes flickering with a bit of fire. "Zhis is a deathmatch, and your... client isn't playing by ze rules set in place." The satyr made the rules abundantly clear; two fighters go in, one comes out.

"Because she's not a killer!" Nikki unwaveringly snapped in her Tala's defense. But she slowly retracted at the thought of Audrey's former boyfriend. Though that was justified, as he would've sucked Audrey dry, and likely other relatively innocent girls, a death is a death, and she didn't take his lightly.

"All ze more reason neither of you should be here." There was no argument there.

It briefly crossed Nikki's mind what she needed to know and do and become in order to be in a place like this, and when she took stock of herself - a bite-sized virgin girl standing among members of folk and myth who'd kill to get someone like her - this woman's sentiment rang all the more true.

Doing her best to will away the migraine, the bluenette nodded. She held her forehead with a delicate tenderness, and she could feel and somewhat hear the aggravated thump of her pulse. "Okay."

But before another word could be spoken, the specter vanished. Alone, Nikki closed her eyes and released a shaky breath.

"Nikki?" Came the concerned voice of Tala as the hasty and heavy footsteps of boots made it into the wash room, rushing up to the bluenette. Before Nikki could even utter her name, the stressed girl felt a strong, but at the same time gentle, supportive hand on her arm and another on her back, urging her upright from the sink. "Nikki, are you alright?"

Pulling herself upright, no longer using the sink as support, Nikki faced her friend. "You... you can't keep doing this!" Tala's gentle touch only reminded her why Nikki didn't want her to get hurt. Under that heavy chest and taut muscle, beat the heart of a wonderful woman who shone like a full moon -no, a sun- in the dreary and gloomy sky that was once Nikki's boring and pointless existence. To see the glimmer of that sun fade would drop her back into another moonless night, even colder than the one she had gotten used to. And she'd do everything she could to stop it.

Tala tilted her head. "What, the tournament?" Nikki nodded. The amazon couldn't say she wasn't prepared for this, but her reason wasn't exactly reassuring. Sighing, Tala moved her hands to the nerd girl's dainty shoulders, wanting her full attention. "I'm not prepared to do that, Nikki. Someone has to knock that woman down a peg."

That only heightened the desperation in Nikki's eyes and her voice. "She just killed someone, Tala! Just to prove a point! To you!" The exasperation in her tone told Tala just how much she got to her, if the remnants of the bile in the sink wasn't already indication enough. That was undeniable, and Tala regretted ever having to put her through this.

But they were in this now, and it was clear something had to be done, lest that fallen scorrow, and very possibly others, die in vain.

"Someone has to put her in her place, Nikki. Besides, this is my job."

That was her battle plan, thought up by her mind and her instincts working as one. Her amazon blood coursed at the challenge laid out before her, and her fair-headed mind called for that blue alien to pay for what she did. Both parts of her working together wasn't rare, given her career, as fighting deadly creatures called for both, but if there were two sides of her arguing on her monolithic shoulders, they'd be shaking hands right now and hyping each other.

"But... but this isn't on paper! This was just us having pun! _Please_! What if you don't come back?!"

Despite how much Tala was invested in her plan, Nikki's angered cry cut through both sides of the amazon's thought process, and she felt her heart ache with a pain that eclipsed her desire to fight.

Tala closed her eyes, sighing. "You don't make this easy for me, Nikki." she whispered, giving the smaller girl's arms a reassuring rub. "But this is something I have to do. As long as that satyr is here, more fighters are gonna bite the dust 'just to prove a point'."

Up until now, it had just been her trying to have fun, duking it out with exotic people. Even though she and Nikki wanted this -they jumped for this- She'd been foolish, bringing her along without considering the risk of Nikki encountering something she wasn't prepared for, something it wasn't her right to prepare her for, regardless of whether or not she new the rules. But now, Tala was invested, and she couldn't let this needless death, or the ones bound to follow in the scorpion woman's wake, go unanswered. She didn't kill needlessly. Just because she wouldn't go out of her way to be menacing, to show everyone how much of a fighter she was, that didn't make her any less threatening than Celeste.

It just means those she opposed got to live to fight another day. She'd come to grips that this was a deathmatch arena, but that scorpion woman was offed because of her, and that simply wouldn't do.

If she caused this problem, she was damn sure gonna fix it.


	13. Fight Club: A Captive Kitty

Tala's declaration of war made Nikki cast her eyes downward. "Guess it was a long shot thinking I could convince you otherwise," she sniffled.

"I'm sorry, Nikki. I understand if you don't want to come here anym-"

"NO!" the bluenette exclaimed. "I mean, if you're in then ... I wanna tough it out with you. Besides, there's some ... stuff I need to see here."

Tala watched Nikki's eyes flicker sideways. The hair on the back of Tala's neck bristled from a sudden draft, but when she side-glanced, there was no one to be seen. 'Weird,' she mused, but she didn't dwell long on the oddity. The joy of having a friend in her corner overpowered her better judgement.

"Okay. If you're in this, Nikki, then I'm counting on you. I've scoped out the other competitors and ID'd their species. I may be an expert, but it never hurts to brush up on extra-human lore for weaknesses. Think I can put you in charge of research, Ann-Marie?"

The nerdette's brightly beaming smile was just the pick me up Tala needed. "Count on it."

XXXXX

Twenty-four hours remained until the next round of the tourney. Twenty-four hours for Tala to rest and recover, and for Nikki to hit the library and research the Amazon's upcoming opponent.

Never in a million years did she imagined she'd be accompanied to the library by Audrey Belrose.

"So you're hanging out with Big Bertha again?"

"For the last time, yes!" Nikki snapped as she shut her notebook and powered down her laptop. She was about to gather up her pile of research books when Audrey grabbed the stack for her. Nikki frowned. "Why're you being so helpful, anyway?"

"Oh, I totally want you to hurry the fuck up so I can catch Miss Stone before you two leave. Didn't you hear? Ox-for-brains is crushing on me."

Leeches in her shoes couldn't make Nikki recoil further. "Seriously?"

"Fuckin' serious, Nik. She's been so horny for me ever since our last trip to the mall. It's been a laugh riot watching her drool over me in class. I've been bringing out my summer gear early just to get her all riled up."

'That explains the outfit,' Nikki decided. Black booty shorts with red thong strings riding up the sides, and an off-the-shoulder crop top that covered Audrey's bra and little else. Audrey had been slutting it up for someone's attention, but she'd never imagined -

"You're out of your mind if Tala would ever want to be with a bitch like you." This was Tala they were talking about! She had ... standards!

"Oh wait and see," Audrey grinned. As soon as they were out of the library and saw Tala's convertible pulling up the street, Audrey started up her sexiest catwalk strut, sauntering to the sidewalk's edge with hips swinging and fingers teasing at her thong. The redheaded minx grabbed a lollipop from her purse and gave the candy a salacious, open-mouthed lick. "Mmm~"

Tala's car swerved lanes. Only an angry honk kept her from colliding with a passing vehicle, and only Tala's sharp reflexes kept her from counter-swerving into a fire hydrant. The car abruptly screech-halted before Audrey's open-toed sandals. Through the windshield, Nikki could see Tala's saucer-wide eyes suction cupped to the trampy diva's body.

Nikki's jaw unhinged.

The redhead gave a sharp, cruel laugh. "Y'see? Bitch wants me so bad she can't even see straight! Well, you two have fun playing make-believe monsters. That is, if Tits-for-Brains mind is anywhere other than the gutter for the rest of the night. Hiiiii, Miss Stone~" she waved in a sickly sweet voice before spinning on her heel and trotting away with hips wiggling.

Nikki got into the passenger seat without a word. Tala didn't seem to notice her presence; Nikki had to crank the radio to 'ear-splitting' volume to startle the Amazon back to life.

"Nikki! Hey, um -"

"Just drive." It was a bitter taste, she decided, realizing that your heroes were only mortal.

XXXXX

"Strengths?" Nikki checked, staring down at the notepad in her hand.

"Flight, talons, and some annoying wind." Tala replied, making sure her leather jacket was flexible and thick. Light-weight armor against tonight's opponent – a harpy.

"Weaknesses?" Nikki probed again.

Tala pursed her lips as she performed some stretching exercises. "No punch output and hollow bones." 

"Battle plan?"

"Get close, grab, bear hug until she quits." Simple and effective. ' _If only I could deal with Audrey that directly… mmm…'_

"You're drooling."

Nikki's poke forced Tala to shake away the naughty thoughts. "Sorry. Got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, you were pretty distracted driving here." The bitterness in Nikki's voice was unmistakable. Tala exhaled.

"There's nothing going on between me and Audrey, Nikki. Honest. She just trying to get under my skin, that's all."

"Yeah, well you looked like you'd do anything to get under her skirt."

Tala tried to protest but Nikki had already spun around, scribbling in her notepad.  _I guess we're done here_ , Tala sighed. She turned around as well, fighting off a sudden migraine, when suddenly two dainty arms wrapped tightly around her midsection from behind.

"Be careful..."

Turning around, the amazon took in Nikki's hopeful eyes and adorable blush, smiling herself. Leaning down to the small nerd girl, she took Nikki's tiny hands into her own, reassuringly rubbing them, and gave her worried friend a quick, but meaningful peck on the nose. Nikki's cheeks burned even hotter. "For you, always." With that, the gladiator turned tail and exited through the double doors and into the hallway.

Waiting for her just outside was her elven acquaintance Serene, who flashed her a smile in greeting. "Quite a bit of research done in preparation, mi'lady."

"Safety first, right?" Tala shrugged as they strode down to the far set of doors, through which they could hear the surely deafening cheers and screams of the waiting crowd. "Hopefully, I can subdue our flighty friend before it turns into a war."

Serene regarded the combatant with an analyzing glance. "You are... far from what I expected out of an amazon, Mi'lady. A quick and painless match is not very enjoyable to anyone. Or so I am told."

Tala regarded her back with a smirk. "How else do I show everyone how invincible I am?"

With her mind steadily gearing itself towards the fight, Tala had to remind herself to keep an open one. The sky was on her opponent's side, but for all she knew, the harpy might not even use it in effort to throw off the amazon's conventional wisdom. Not to mention the octagon, though spacey to accommodate the large and exotic, still lacked space for speedy flight, which saved her the trouble of worrying about swooping passes. Hopefully.

But upon stepping through the doors, it seemed Tala still wasn't open-minded enough. The arena, which was simply an open octagon the previous night, now had a tower with platforms leading to the top. "Our host certainly likes to makes interesting, doesn't he?"

Serene hummed. "With niche combatants now, Master Drek reacted accordingly."

"You'll have to tell me about him once this is over."

XXXXX

Outside the octagon, the monstrous extra-humans were pushing and shoving one another for the front row seats of the carnage. Nikki ducked her head and allowed herself to be shoved away against the tide until she was at the back corner of the VIP lounge, where only the top-most platform of the arena was visible over the cheering horde.

It wasn't squeamishness or nerves that forced her retreat. Nikki gasped when the icy, invisible hand clasped her shoulder.

"You've done well to get me down here again, cherie."

Nikki did her best to ignore the condescending pat on the back from the spectral Frenchwoman. "You said this would help Tala," she whispered from the corner of her mouth, cautious that she was out of sight of the servers and security cameras. "So ... just hurry up and tell me what to do next, okay?"

The smug voice on her shoulder practically dripped with condescension. "Un moment, ma belle. Don't you want to see your client's match?"

The crowd roared. Tala's opponent had just entered, announcing her arrival with a piercing shriek that forced Nikki to cringe. From her back corner she could see the lithe and agile harpy woman leap to to the upper platform - grinding her obsidian-like talons into the edge and fanning out her bluish wing-arms in a display of ferocity. The crowd ate up the posturing, their voices chanting for this new favorite:

"Blood, blood, blood!"

Nikki turned away with a shudder. "No, I don't need to see this."

"Bon idee," the voice - Amelie - conceded. "Head to ze kitchen entrance on ze southern wall. Zhere's a side path zhat leads to ze ... administrative areas."

"Why'd you need my help anyway?" Nikki whispered to the ghostly presence. "I mean, can't you walk through walls or something?"

"Alwayz helpful to have a decoy, in case ah need someone distracted." The waif gave Nikki's shoulder a sharp pinch, a reminder that this phantasm could be very corporeal if she chose. "And ah know you'll keep your 'client' from doing anything stupid against me."

Lovely, Nikki cringed. She wasn't just a human host, she was an insurance policy against Tala.

The administrative corridor was laid out just as Amelie had described – sleek and metallic-silver with a thick and uninviting security door at its end.

"Locked," Nikki shrugged, but another pinch on the shoulder reminded her what to do. She reached into her waistband for a magnetic device, a goodie Amelie's invisible presence had tossed to her from outside a washroom window on the main floor - and clamped it over the keypad lock. The electronic lock pick did its work and the vault door clicked open.

"Entre," Amelie's voice ordered.

"What're we looking for?" Nikki asked as she slipped into a further corridor of cold metal. Her sneakers made a horrible, tapping echo along the silver floor that all but exposed her.

"Computers, a server room," Amelie hissed. "Ah want to know exactly how zhis place works. Ah want to know what happens to ze champions of Drek's tournaments."

Nikki peered into the first door - office space. "What do you mean? They win, right?"

Amelie's sudden pause was hardly comforting.

"Zhey win," she agreed, "and zhen they are never seen again."

XXXXX

 _'Never doing that again...'_ Tala muttered in her thoughts as she scraped herself off the floor up just in time to avoid being torn by talons the size of steak-knives.

In an attempt aggravate her opponent and make an opportunity to capitalize on, the amazon had tried bounding from level to level whenever the feather fiend came in for a dive. However, the harpy had adapted just as quickly by switching up her pattern, faking dives and conjuring hurricane-force winds with a swipe of her wings, making Tala the one to slip up.

A particularly strong gust of wind sent the giant woman staggering. The harpy took advantage of this disorientation - snatching at Tala's shoulder and throwing her clean off the high platform. Tala went with the momentum as she fell and pushed off the glass of the ring, tucking into a roll just in time to roll back and avoid the worst of the blade-like talons. The talons broke skin on her shoulder but Tala's thick muscle - and the thick leather coat - prevented the deadly weapons from going deep enough to cause meaningful damage. Pushing herself to her feet with her unaffected arm, it was time to strategize again.

XXXXX

Fighting her on her opponent's level just wouldn't work, the she-demon was too patient and calculating to get angry and slip up, and the harpy was too fast and dangerous to safely catch out of a dive. Meanwhile, Tala had no real defense other than to avoid and evade. Attacking in an ideal scenario would be nothing short of mutually assured destruction.

Out of immediate options, Tala began to think. 'A grounded bird is a dead bird. But... how do I ground her?' Tala's mind was racing for suggestions, and her attention was divided between finding a way to beat her flightful friend as well and making sure talons didn't chew up her other shoulder. Hugging the wall had limited success, as the harpy would just fly in an inward arc, avoiding the glass while still having the skill to swoop in time after time.

Then it hit her.

Tala put herself out in the open again when she unzipped her jacket.

XXXXX

Door after door, Nikki peered through each window as quietly as her rubber sneakers would allow. With the disembodied French voice's help, she wasn't caught, but the catsuit spectre sure knew how to make herself scarce when Nikki needed a little direction. Here she was, walking deeper and deeper into the belly of the beast, ignoring her common sense screaming at her to leave, get Tala, go home, and never come back again.

But despite the possibility that death could be around any of these corners or through any of these doors, fascination and curiosity were powerful in their joint effort to continuously force the nerd girl to put one foot in front of the other in the wrong direction.

The deafening silence made her thoughts impossible to ignore. No surprise that they were occupied by her amazonian champion and her fight against the harpy. She'd think of Tala's stalwart frame and every muscle exploding to life as she threw a punch, then to massive talons, long and blade-like, swooping down to take a piece out of that wonderful body. Tala's safety tugged at her thoughts ever since their relationship had picked up, and every new threat made her chest ache and her stomach churn. Coupled with the graphic display of Celeste's victory yesterday, and Nikki could add nausea to that list. But as she looked through another door window, spying what appeared to be a computer terminal from centuries into the future, a thought occurred to her:

Why wasn't she speaking up against it?

Last night, why didn't she dig in her heels and scream her gamer lungs out for Tala to give this a rest and go home where it was safe? Why was she letting herself get wrapped up in all this crap about creatures fighting in some stupid death arena? Why did she ever agree to be Tala's sidekick to run around, solving Scooby-Doo mysteries?

It was kinda simple, really. It was the same reason she allowed Audrey to burn through her credit card and drag her to the most disgusting of raves and drug parties.

"I'd do anything for a friend..."

"Pardon?" Amelie's French accent brushed against her ear.

"Nothing, just talking to myself." Nikki planted the Frenchwoman's magnetic lock-pick against the door frame, grasped the handle and allowed herself in.

Inside, the room was just how the gamer girl liked her accommodations: dark, clear of clutter, and chilled. Amelie shivered - so the spectre could feel heat - but for Nikki it was a refreshing 15 degrees Celsius, the ideal temperature for keeping a gaming hard drive from overclocking. "Now if I could just figure out how to log on."

"Log on to what?"

The cutesy voice made Nikki jump. Sitting on her haunches and sporting a pretty mane of chestnut hair and amber eyes was a little girl. A cat-girl, to be precise, and when Nikki jumped, the black ears atop her head and the whip-like tail sprouting from her bottom launched in alarm.

"Nyaa, I'm sorry! I didn't mean t'scare ya! Please don't tell Master Drek! Momo will do better next time!"

A cat-girl. That was the first thought Nikki's gamer brain latched onto: an honest-to-goodness neko-neko-chan straight from the pages of an ecchi manga series, complete with innocent eyes, a child-like body, and a way-too-short skirt that flashed her panties if she so much as sneezed.

The second thought was 'She thinks I work here.'

"Um ... it's cool. Um, I'm kinda new here, so I got kinda lost." Only in front of a creature so obviously young and naive could Nikki have pulled off her lie. "You work here too?"

"Yup, yup, yup," the cat-girl chirped. "Momo helps Master Drek any way she can! She's a good kitty!"

"Oh. I'm with IT."

"Hiyas, Eye-Tee! I'm Momo!"

"Riiiight. Hey, Momo, can you help me out? Mister, err, I mean Master Drek wanted me to check the files on the Tournament Champions. You've got a login password?"

Momo cupped her chin and pondered the question furiously. "Hmm, Momo's no good with 'puters. Buuuut, she does know where you can find the old fighters, EyeTee! It's Momo's job to give them foodsies 'n stuff!"

Amelie's voice hissed victory in Nikki's ears. "Zhis is our chance! If we can find just one previous contestant -"

"I know," Nikki whisper-hissed. She smiled widely at Momo. "Could you take us - I mean, take me there, Momo?"

Momo's childish smile faltered. "Umm, that's a tricksy part. EyeTee, you gotta get the remote off the top shelf for Momo. If she tries to leave here on her own, well..."

The cat-girl padded forward several steps, and when she crossed an invisible boundary line, the black collar around her neck glowed blue with energy and blasted the cat-girl off her feet. Howling from the electrical discharge, Momo flew into the back wall with a deafening 'thunk'.

Nikki gasped and rushed to the cat-girl's side, helping her into a sitting position. Black vapor, and the scent of burnt toast wafted from Momo's throat. The cat-girl offered a sad smile.

"Master Drek doesn't like it when Momo goes for walkies on her own..."

"Whoevah this Drek is, he certainly keeps hiz ends tied- agh!" The disembodied voice was shaken from her pondering when Momo crawled forward and extended a dainty hand towards the source of the voice.

The red-eyed woman, in her alerted shriek, jumped back as she took form, clutching an arm over her chest, presumably where the cat-girl's hand landed when she reached up. "Bonté gracieuse!" The Frenchwoman's blush was as red as her eyes.

Momo's only response was an adorable giggle, seeming to have completely forgotten about her intensive shock therapy mere moments ago.

"Wait..." Nikki interjected, piecing together the details. "You're not ethereal?"

"Unfortunately..." the woman scowled before looking about the higher levels of the room for the aforementioned remote.

Nikki didn't know why, but a lot of her anxiety vanished with the realization of the spirit haunting her turning out to be a self-conscious, corporeal woman in a catsuit. She felt a whale lifted off of her lower back.

The remote sat within reach of a good jump for someone of their dainty statures, and the thought made her frown. Cats loved to climb, and everything that could be climbed on was mockingly out of reach of the young little kitty. "Cruel..."

Just before Amelie was about to jump up to swipe the remote off the shelf, the door knob jiggled. The ghost woman looked over her shoulder and vanished in an instant while the bluenette desperately looked about for a place to hide. A sleek filing cabinet was close at hand on her side of the room, so Nikki went to take refuge behind it. Momo, alerted but not knowing what else to do, curled up into a ball, folding her sleeves over her eyes.

Then the heavy door finally swung open.

In stepped a towering, yellow-scaled, bipedal lizard dressed in a specially tailored jumpsuit.

"Wake up," his deep voice rumbled as his tail swished out from behind him, seizing Momo by the neck and none-too-gently hoisting her to her feet. He shoved a tray into her abdomen, the cat girl having no choice but to accept it, before he strode across the room with heavy footsteps and grabbed the remote from the shelf.

With a point and a click, Momo's collar was deactivated. That was already Momo's cue to leave, but due to her hidden company in the room, she nervously looked side to side, clearly confused and scared. This didn't sit well with the saurian alien. "What are you waiting for?! Go!" Grabbing the entirety of the servant's head with his massive clawed hand, Momo was flung shrieking towards the door, her cat mastery of balance being the only thing stopping her from plummeting to the floor, possibly spilling the tray and making her overseer even more impatient and angry. Barely holding back her tears, the cat girl opened the door and stepped out.

Nikki watched the alien huff and make his way toward the computer, but behind him, Amelie, or rather her arm, took form and hastily instructed the nerd girl to make her exit in the form of a pointed finger. The audible creek of the closing door gave Nikki extra assurance as she swiftly crept her way out, her small frame able to slip through before it closed on her. But now outside again, the bluenette had no doubt the spectre wanted her to follow Momo, who was walking her way down the hallway, head hung with the slight sound of a sniffle escaping from under her hanging hair.

"Momo," Nikki stage-whispered, "You okay? They don't all treat you like that, do they?"

Momo was clearly surprised when she glanced back. Surprised to have someone following her, or surprised that the person following her wasn't physically abusing her, Nikki didn't care to know.

"Oh, Miss EyeTee. It's okay. Momo's super clumsy so everybody always gets mad at her and yells at her. It's what happens to bad kitties."

Nikki snorted. "It's not how I'd treat my cat. You don't look like a bad girl at all. Oh, and it's Nikki, by the way."

Momo's giggled, and her voice was all the more depressing for how oblivious she was. "You're funny, Miss Nikki. An' nice. Momo kinda wishes you could be her master, but ..."

Her eyes darted mournfully to her shock collar. Nikki hastily changed the subject. "What's that tray for?"

"Oh, well Momo's s'posed t'feed all the punchy people after they lose 'n get hurt. Master Drek takes everybody who's not dead to his special place so they can get better."

"Like an infirmary?" This 'Drek' didn't seem like the sort to offer free health care to washed-up street fighters, not if the way he treated his 'pet' was any indication. The way the hallways darkened as they walked farther and deeper into the facility didn't support that theory either.

"Who's In-Fer-Mary?" Momo frowned. "Here, Momo'll show you. They're behind that big door!"

The cat girl scampered forward to an enormous, armor-plated door. The security on this entryway was intimidating, but a console accepted Momo's paw-print as an entry code. Massive locks and tumblers rumbled and clunked as the thick barrier slid into the ceiling.

What Nikki saw beyond the doorway made her jaw drop in horror.


	14. Fight Club: Showdown with Celeste

Rows of steel cages, looking as cold and unforgiving as it was dark, lined the sides of what looked like a minimally lit storage room. The low, hollow ambiance only served to multiply the feeling of abandonment that simply being in this room gives. Were it any darker, the gamer girl would have gotten the impression some deadly creature was stalking them from the long, imposing shadows. But only a few steps were taken when the feeling in her stomach got worse.

A coppery odor hit her nostrils with all the impact of a car crash, and whereas Momo simply proceeded with a sleeve over her presumably sensitive nose, Nikki was ready to blow chunks all over again.

It was through sheer determination and grit that allowed Nikki to follow Momo to the end of the row of cages, and kneeling down in front of the bars, the nerd girl got a good look at Tala's opponent from yesterday. The Lamia healed from her bruises inflicted during her fight with the amazon, which were all headshots, but Nikki could spot more injuries around her hands and the further end of her tail, presumably from failed escape attempts. Her upper body was devoid of the elegant attire she fought in the ring with, leaving her in simple fabric to cover her hips and chest. To see such a proud and boastful character brought so low didn't sit right with Nikki.

"M-miss snake lady?" The bouncing echo of the childish voice stirred the woman from her slumber as two golden slit eyes opened, gazing up at her visitors before pushing herself to a sitting position, rubbing her eyes. Momo offered the tray of foodstuffs. "H-hungry?"

What surprised Nikki was not only how she wordlessly accepted one of the two bundles, but how she took the meal and slumped back down onto the metal floor of the cage, her back now facing them. "What could they do in one day?" The bluenette found herself asking aloud.

"I'll tell you." A pained voice grunted from the cage next to them.

XXXXX

Upstairs in the VIP lounge, Tala threw back a much needed glass of goblin fire-ale. The liquid scalded her throat, a welcome relief from the pain burning through her muscles. She did her best to hold still in the corner booth while Cerene peeled off her tank top and inspected her wounds. The elven waitress winced at the bloody sight.

"Shuu is quick with her claws, but you managed to keep one step quicker, Miss Tala. A quarter-inch deeper and you'd likely have parts missing."

Tala hissed in relief as cold ointments were spread over her wounds. "Put it on my tab, and make sure you save some for Terra. She's got to be stinging plenty after all the punishment I gave her." With every dodge and dive-bomb, Tala had gotten more and more of a feel for this 'Shuu' as she began accurately predicting what her talons targeted. Shedding her jacket once she had timed the bird girl's dive, Tala wrapped up her opponent's feet before bringing her down for a less than pretty ground-and-pound. Most of her wounds came from that riveting struggle.

"No need for balms," Cerene smiled back. "Your opponent will be enjoying the full hospitality afforded by Master Drek."

Again, the mysterious proprietor. "Your boss, tell me about him."

Cerene paused her massage, and Tala could imagine the smile overtaking her face. "He arrived on our world some time ago, almost as if he rode upon a wind of good fortune. My previous employer - a most vile orc - had left this establishment to rot, ransacking the safe and fleeing for greener pastures. That was when Drek appeared..."

XXXXX

Deep in the hi-tech dungeon, Nikki reared back as a thin and malnourished orc crawled to the bars of his cage.

"This... 'Drek' guy came out of nowhere, had his space-thugs beat me into paste. Took all my money to turn a fun corner to let loose into an arena..."

XXXXX

"Drek's first order was to commence massive renovations," Cerene explained. "Before, this center truly was a hovel, but now we are a splendid meeting place for races of all strips and sorts!"

XXXXX

"The bastard started tunneling like the rat he is - he turned upstairs into a shiny and glitzy honey lure for the trap down here."

XXXXX

"Master Drek bid all the servers call far and wide to our extra-human companions. The fight arenas were his idea as well, a way for us to show off our strength; instill our people with pride!"

XXXXX

"Fighters. That's what he wants. The stronger, the stranger, the better!"

The weary orc broke down into hacking. Nikki bent closer to whisper.

XXXXX

"But why?" Tala whispered. "Why bring them all together if they're just going to kill each other?"

"Catering to the bloodlust of the crowds," Cerene shrugged, "and so that we may truly appreciate the surviving champions."

XXXXX

"Survival of the fittest," the orc coughed back. "If they died in the first rounds, they weren't worth selling, is how I see it. It's the champions he wants, but I guess he's getting greedy enough to take the tier two trash as well."

They both glanced at the broken lamia.

"He's selling them off," the orc reinforced. "I'd be disappointed if our neck of the stars was the only place that had fighting as a favorite pastime. Turns out, there's a whole galaxy of alien freaks out there with nothing better to do than make a living off of it with us as the roosters in this cockfight. This place is just a testing ground for the real stage."

A chill went up Nikki's spine. "So the champions, they're taken to Drek?"

XXXXX

"Besides the serving staff, only the champions have the honour of meeting Master Drek," Cerene confirmed.

"Sounds like quite the character," Tala nodded. "You can bet I'll do everything I can to meet him."

XXXXX

"I'm not letting Tala get anywhere near him!"

XXXXX

"Jeez,  _you_  look like shit this morning." The observation was made by none other than Audrey as she stepped in the classroom to see the large woman devoid of the energy that was prevalent most of the past week.

"I could say the same, Belrose." Tala bit back with a fraction of the zeal the diva started their morning with. Today, Audrey had her hair dyed platinum blonde with a cute black bow over one of her hanging locks that draped down her shoulders, not unlike her own. Aside from the cute dark purple monster tee and the surplus of rainbow bracelets around her net-sleeve wrists, her most striking article of clothing was her shamefully short purple skirt that barely hid her panties from her sitting position.  _'Calm down, Tala. Calm down.'_

This morning, Tala herself wore a tight long sleeve top to hide her still-tender arms and shoulders after they healed overnight, but little could be done about her bruised cheek or the bags under her eyes.  _'Wait...'_ Tala glanced down at her watch, then back to Audrey as she proceeded to take her seat at the front next to Tiffany at the front, who was quietly reading. _'Is she... early?'_  Tala didn't know whether she should feel proud or on alert. Audrey Belrose showing up for class was an occurrence on par with a blue moon, but at the same time, anything classified as good behavior almost always had something to follo-

Tala's thought process came to a screeching halt when she noticed Audrey, with her back turned, drop her pencil. " _Oops_."

 _'Oh shit...'_  Tala's demeanor was crumbling like a rock under a press as she bore witness to Audrey as she, slow and agonizingly as possible, bent over to retrieve her writing utensil. Tiffany caught on immediately, and with a blush almost as vibrant as the teacher's, she tried her best to stay silent and not pay attention to the amazon struggling to hold it together. But as she watched Audrey dish out with a sickening grin and Miss Stone receive with a tormented frown, the floating rumor rang demonstrably true.

After a tantalizing wiggle for good measure, confident she had flustered her teacher to hot and bothered satisfaction, Audrey rose back up to her full height with a grin that would make a demon from the depths of hell proud. "So," the little hellspawn began as she plopped down into her seat, having had her fun. "So what the fuck were you and Nikki doing last night? I couldn't make good on this sweet sale because of you."

"Couldn't spend someone else's money yesterday? Boo hoo." Tala was particularly out of dealing with Audrey's antics today, even though that girl still got to her all the same. When they got back home last night, Nikki told Tala about what she discovered regarding the 'champions', and Tala told Nikki that the only way to really know how to stop all this was to meet Drek as one of said champions. Needless to say, their conflict of interest turned into an argument, then a fight, which ended up in the bluenette storming out. And Tala lost a lot of sleep.

Seeing her tormentee so defeated and crestfallen, Audrey thought she'd get the last laugh with a stuck-out tongue, but she didn't even do that. Whipping out her phone, she put her thumb to use. Merciful.

Tiffany, however, her heartstrings were plucked.

XXXXX

"Miss Stone!"

The call across the parking lot caught Tala off-guard. The day was over, and she'd been ready to slump into her car and cruise home for a long night of aches and pain, but she paused at the door to her car so that Tiffany could jog across the lot, tartan skirt swishing in the sunset as she approached.

"Miss Stone," the blonde puffed again, "I just wanted to say that... whatever it is you're going through, there are people rooting for you, so... do your best, okay?"

Tala was touched, to say the least. A weekend of physical thrashing followed by Audrey's psychological taunting had left her drained beyond imagining, but knowing she had a cheerleader on her sidelines kindled a new warmth and vigor deep in her chest.

So it was a pity she'd never be able to express her gratitude.

"Tiffany Maye," she snapped, "I'm tired and I'm busy and I need to get home. If you're sniffing around for hints about the next test, I suggest you save your breath. Get going, and don't bother me again tonight!"

It had the required effect. Tiffany's jaw dropped, but then her eyes narrowed in an insulted scowl. "Well!" she huffed before stomping away with her nose held high.

Tala sighed, and shot her dirtiest glare to the hooded figure watching from behind a tree. "Tracked me all the way to my workplace, did you?"

"Even without your distinct height and proportions, your noxious smell made the task all too easy... if distasteful." The figure didn't hesitate to stride forward, the clop of hooves punctuating each step. Hidden behind earthling jeans and a hoodie, only the very tips of Celeste's horns peaked out from her head covering. The alien fighter marched up to the passenger side of Tala's convertible and wiped a finger across the engine hood.

"Such primitive transport," she mused.

"Looking to pre-game our match?" Tala growled back. A quick glance verified that Tiffany had left and the lot had emptied. It was just the two of them. They could go all-out if they wanted.

"I merely wished to observe my opponent in her natural habitat," Celeste stated calmly. Noting the empty lot she shook herself free of her hood and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Your planetary ecosystem is sickeningly humid."

"Can't keep up with the heat, better get out of the kitchen," Tala snarked back. "What's your deal, anyway? Coming all the way to this planet just for a local fighting match. You part of Drek's crew?"

The question sent Celeste's lip curling in a snarl. "I am not. But I will take great satisfaction from winning this competition."

So she was a wandering gladiator, Tala decided, traveling the stars and picking on 'primitive species' to satisfy her warrior's ego. "You know I can't let you win."

"And I have no intention of losing to you, Earthling Tala Stone." Her golden eyes flickered in Tiffany's direction. "Are you a brood mare?"

"Excuse me?"

"You appear to be the dominant female of your community. I've observed that you keep numerous lower females at your beck for pleasure. You should consider the happiness and well-being of your beta-females before you engage me in combat. It will be the last they see of you."

Celeste's leg reared up suddenly and punched down like a bolt gun. Her cloven foot crumpled Tala's passenger-side door in a single strike. Point illustrated, the alien fighter flipped up her hood and made her exit with a very Audrey-like smirk of superiority on her face.

It was all Tala could do to contain her anger as she rushed to inspect her mangled car.

"That bitch," she hissed. To think that she was going through with this tournament to _save_ that ungrateful blue freak from becoming slave fodder! "Maybe you don't want my help, but you're getting it, Celeste. Even if I have to beat some sense into you..."

XXXXX

The sun was still out, and there was still plenty of sunlight to burn until it set.

As Tala leaned against her car, avoiding the indentation, she pondered her next course of action. Should she head to the fitness center and loosen up? Stay home and warm up for the night ahead undisturbed? Blow off some steam with Aiko?

... Reconcile with Tiffany and Nikki?

One half of her argued the importance of being ready for the fight. Celeste will be more than ready, and she'll make it hurt, if her two previous opponents were any indication. The other half reminded her of the pieces that needed picking up, and brought to light how much worse things might be if she waits until after tonight to set things right with her friends.  _'Maybe I'm overreacting...'_ Tiffany was a kindly, forgiving girl, and she'd be willing to hear out an apology, now or later. But Nikki, she's been through so much already, and it just wasn't fair to keep charging forward just so the girl could watch helplessly as Tala came out from the other end of the meat grinder.

 _'But what the hell else could I have done?'_ Her morality dictated that she puts an end to this, lest more people suffer. On or off the clock, it was her job. But it wasn't the scorpion lady dying that ground the amazon's gears, that uneasy topic came in her job description, but it was _why_  she died. And nothing short of beating Celeste something fierce will be okay.

"Got your mind on a hot piece of ice blue ass?" In normal cases, Tala would feign annoyance when Kyu popped in like that. But with all the things riding her mind right now, the love fairy in all her quirkiness was a much-welcomed distraction. And the dainty fantasy girl knew that.

Try as the redhead might to suppress that unwanted grin of hers, seeing a smiling face again was a much-needed break. "You can say that."

"And not in the good way, I see." One look down told the love fairy exactly why her client's smile only lasted until she said that.

"Believe it or not, it's not the car I'm worried about, though I'll get looks until it's fixed."

Not one to give up a challenge, Kyu was eager to step up to the plate. "Hey, I'm the GOAT when it comes to people, be it shy, bitchy, or sexy with horns." Fluttering up, the love fairy plopped herself down on the raised car roof, casually resting an elbow on the giant woman's head. "Tell me about her, Playa."

Sighing, Tala took a moment to gather her thoughts. She tilted her head up at the sky and sighed. "For starters, she's arrogant as all get-out. Struts around with an ego as wide as her hips."

"The sexy ones always have a dark side," Kyu nodded.

"It's funny," Tala continued, "we're alike in so many ways - she's a warrior to the core, and she's all about searching for a challenge. In any other scenario we'd probably be good friends, but-"

"But she's got her eyes on you, and she wants ta knock ya up and knock ya down," Kyu finished, giving a stretch and a groan. "And not in a kinky way, amiright? Like, be honest with me, Nariko - what's the chance you two could start hate-fucking each other in the middle of that octagon? Forty percent? Fifty?"

"Zilch," Tala grumped. Honestly, did a moment go by in that fairy's head where she didn't think about sex? "So what do I do about her?" Tala glanced up at the fairy, and was surprised to find an irritated pout.

"Honestly, playa! One minute you're pimpin' it like game's goin' out of style, the next you're moping like a high school virgin sobbing out an emo 'dear diary' entry. It's like I haven't taught you a thing!"

"That's the point: you haven't," Tala snarked, standing up to poke the fairy in the nose. "I'm the one who's found all your 'broads', I'm the one who's been busting my ass to figure out Kyanna and Aiko. You didn't even give me a Huniebee - I've been using my old phone all this time! All you've done is sit around my house and pull a vanishing act with all my frozen pizza! You haven't taught me shit about women!"

Kyu rolled her eyes. "Umm, that's because you don't need any teaching, duh! Talking, flirting, dating - Nariko, you've got this shit down-pat. You know what the ladies want, and you know how t'give it to them. You're what we in the business call a 'Woman's Woman'. A born natural. So put that natural talent to work and think - what's gonna get this blue-skinned hunie all hot and bothered?"

Tala emitted a disgusted sigh. "Kyu, this isn't some dating game, it's a death sport! I'm not trying to get Celeste all 'hot and -"

Tala stopped, her eyes widening in epiphany. Deep in her eyes, a memory replayed: Celeste confronting her in the parking lot, shrugging off her hood and wiping the sweat from her brow.

'Your planetary ecosystem is sickeningly humid...'

Kyu's cheeky smile returned to her lips. "Found somethin', Nariko?"

Tala clasped the love fairy on the shoulders, jubilant in her discovery. "Kyu, you're a genius! Now I know exactly how I'm going to beat Celeste!"

"That's my girl," the fairy whooped. "FYI, no need to be shy about the thank-you sex. I know your car's a little beat up, but I'm still down for a little back-seat bump with my number one gal. Um, Tal?"

But Tala had already thrown herself into the driver's seat and gunned the engine. She had to find Nikki and review this new strategy. If she was right, taking down Celeste would be as simple as flicking a switch.

"I've got you now, little miss satyr!"

XXXXX

"I will neveh understand ze warrior's impulse to smile az they prepare to kill." Amelie sighed almost loathingly as she and Nikki bore witness to the amazon as the giant woman made her way down the aisle to the octagon.

As per her relationship with the ginger, Nikki scored a top-row ticket from their orc friend upstairs, seating her high above her previous placements the last couple of nights. And from there, she was about a rock toss away from the heavily armored booth overlooking the arena like a command center. The silhouettes inside were all strikingly tall with sleek appearances and large, swishing reptilian tails, but that was all that the bluenette could make out before snapping her gaze forward from the alarming suspicion that one of them looked in her direction. "Tala's not a killer." Nikki piped up in reply to her spectral companion, feeling the urge to defend her friend's name swell in her chest.

"Ze look is there all ze same." Tala looked ready to conquer the world, and given the circumstances, proceeding to carry out the main event of a death sport, it made the scene all the more sickening for the half-wraith to watch.

"I doubt it's for the reason you're thinking." Nikki rebutted, fighting the urge to grin like her friend down there approaching the octagon.

All too perceptive, Amelie caught on to the details hidden in between the lines. "So ze both of you have a plan?" the half-wraith inquired, a small bit of irritation spiking at not being told the new information up front.

"It's a longshot, but we found out Celeste's biggest weakness." the bluenette informed,

"And what would zhat be? Her arrogance?"

"Well, that too, but I'm talking about her physiology." Celeste was sweating bullets in the gentle spring sun, she could only imagine how uncomfortable it would get for the alien satyr to have a big sweaty amazon grappling onto her. "From what I was told, she can't stand the heat."

Crossing her arms, Amelie went invisible and eyed the booth. "If zhere is climate control, es located in zhat booth."

"Wait, you serious?"

The ghostly woman gave Nikki a knowing smirk. "If ah enter zhat booth and disable ze air conditioning, zhat 'satyr' will stand no chance. Not very sportsman-like, but zhis is a death sport."

"But Tala and I -"

A tiny finger on Nikki's lips halted that comment.

"You want to keep your amie alive, oui?" A silent nod. "Zhen allow me to assist in your fight. Zhis will all be to Tala's benefit. Trus' me."

And before Nikki could get another word in, the phantom woman vanished before her eyes. The softest of footsteps, and the ghostly opening and closing of the booth door were the only indications of Amelie's departure. "I don't get why she's so hell-bent on stopping Drek," Nikki muttered to herself, "but maybe she's not that bad."

It was a thought Nikki would soon live to regret.

XXXXX

Down in the octagon, Tala cracked her neck and adjusted the straps on her sports bra. She was dressed lightly in a tummy-bearing sports top, shorts, and a ratty pair of sneakers that she always wore to the gym. Unlike her match with the harpy, there was no sense bundling up for protection - one hit from Celeste's piston-powered hooves would crack her bones no matter how many layers she piled on.

 _'Light, agile; gotta keep weaving,'_ she told herself as she checked the sports tape around her knuckles. _'Now where is that space goat?'_

A bloodthirsty cheer from the crowd announced her opponent's arrival through the opposite gate. Celeste strutted into the octagon, head held high and arrogant as ever, her snowy hair tied into a bun to avoid giving Tala anything to yank. _'Smart,'_ Tala nodded, 'but what the hell is she wearing?'

Where Tala had chosen breathable, light fabrics, the blue alien had covered herself from the neck downward in some sort of skin-tight, red body suit that glistened like latex rubber. The sight actually made Tala gulp - even though Celeste wasn't showing an inch of skin, the tight-fitting alien rubber had a translucent texture that gave Tala a full view of everything underneath, and damn was that a body worth ogling.

As though anticipating Tala's very reaction, Celeste smirked as she massaged her leather-clenched breasts to egg on her opponent. A rough squeeze, and Tala's eyes went wide as Celeste's nipples puckered and pressed against their confines, pleading for release. 'Hot damn, Aiko would go nuts for that suit!'

"A sight to behold," Celeste agreed, "but the Chu'tari Cryo-tek bodysuit has functional uses as well. Climate control, for example."

 _'Climate control? Wait...'_ On closer inspection, Tala could make out more than just the alien woman's belly button under that suit. Tiny air bubbles drifted through the fabric like oil in a lava lamp, and where Tala was already feeling a light sweat under her arms, Celeste looked cool and composed as ever.

 _'It's a fluid-filled suit!'_ Tala realized. _'She's got herself wrapped up in one giant cold water bottle! She can beat the heat!'_

And as the opening buzzer sounded and Celeste charged forward, Tala spared a brief, worried glance up at Nikki's booth. Celeste's visitation, their verbal confrontation, the 'slip' that revealed the alien's intolerance to heat and lulled Tala into her confident strategy. They'd both been played!

And Celeste was playing for keeps.

 _'Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events.'_ Despite the certain doom that this spelled for every bone in her body, Tala conjured the thought up with the widest, stupidest grin, even a laugh. As she strafed to the side and gave her homicidal competitor a wide berth, Tala's adrenaline spiked and her mind went into overdrive. She's confident she could ultimately defeat Celeste if it came down to anything other than kicks, and those shapely goat legs had more propensity to kill than any strike she herself could launch. But with Celeste's legs as the only thing that could lethally finish this fight, it was the amazon's job to either stay out of range or get inside.

That was all the information Tala had time to process in the few nanoseconds she had before Celeste sprung in her direction again with a kick aimed for her head. Tala thanked the heavens that this was an octagon and not a shape with corners to trap her in as she dashed to the side, then ducked as Celeste's flying kick turned into a roundhouse mid-air, flicking the ginger bun on the back of her head. Tala took her moment in close to begin her assault, opening with a quick one-two. But as she would soon find out, Celeste was faster. As the blue alien landed from her missed kicks, she swiftly blocked both punches with her palms before their following exchange of punches ended in Celeste hopping up and jumping backwards off of Tala's raised guard, sending the amazon reeling before she herself executed a graceful backflip, landing on the other side of the ring.

She was fast. Extremely fast. _'Okay... different tactic.'_ Celeste was fast enough to cover her openings and repel counters. And that starting jab and punch was as fast as Tala could make them. But as Celeste leered at her with that superior smirk, Tala wisely took the time to analyze some more. Celeste had the speed to leave her in the dust to attack from any angle, which was bad news. If she were to land with some power, she'd have to counter. And Celeste on offense was alltogether a bad thing, not to mention those horns of hers could only spell a thick skull made for impacts, so her best bet was the core. Wear that down, and her speed will go with it. _'Worth a shot.'_ Changing her guard to face her palms forward, Tala advanced again.

XXXXX

Nikki was on the edge of her seat.

As she watched the two combatants close the distance again, her analytical mind scrutinized every punch and kick that went wither way, and her heart sank when she saw Tala stumble back after a knee to the side. She brushed the painful-looking attack off, but the realization had already set in on the bluenette.

Tala couldn't land a single punch.

Her eyes were wide, her heart was thumping... her fingers were jittery, her breathing was hitched. Why didn't Tala wait for their plan? Was it that suit? Can she last? Why was she smiling? These thoughts plagued her as her champion launched another attack, and barely got out of it by blocking a roundhouse with her meaty arm.

Nikki's mind found some semblance of ease when she noticed Tala took to avoiding altogether, taking note of the amazon's analytical look she often had when she was hunting for clues or grading papers.

But inside the octagon, the nerd girl could begin making out the heat mirage and the steady build-up of fog on the glass, a tell-tale and rather comforting sign that the inside of the ring began transitioning from cold to hot. Nonetheless, Nikki watched on with sweat beading on her forehead, and not from the heat.

XXXXX

Tala didn't know whether or not Celeste was toying with her at this point, but her experience has taught her that aggression wasn't always the way. It certainly wasn't here, with Celeste being able to either read her like a book or just be fast enough to outpace every move she makes. Countering was difficult. Moving in close just wasn't enough. Celeste just kept defensive responsibility.

But in her pondering, Tala noticed she felt... hot. She could no longer see her breaths. And she was sweating. Far from enough to slow her down by any stretch, but one look and she noticed that Celeste's grin was a few degrees more insufferable. And as expected, the space goat wasn't slowing down.

But neither was she.

_'Alright, Miss High and Mighty. Let's play Spot the Mistake.'_

XXXXX

Tala was slowing down.

She was slowing down, and Celeste wasn't. Nikki was starting to panic.

XXXXX

"How unsightly, Tala Stone. You appear prepared to collapse from heat exhaustion. I expected a female of your reputation to have more ... stamina."

Celeste actually relaxed her battle stance as she took in Tala's sweaty face and fatigued guard. _'That's it,'_ Tala thought to herself. _'Pity me, the poor, unprepared human.'_ She could play Celeste's feinting game just as well.

"Prolonging this match would simply be an exercise in cruelty," the blue alien continued. "I will finish this quickly."

She was even arrogant enough to walk up close with her hands at her sides. Tala allowed herself a last minute grin as she curled a fist and launched everything she had into one last sucker punch. "HA!" Her bandaged knuckles connected directly with Celeste's gut. _'Just as expected!'_

What she wasn't expecting was for the fluid-filled suit to cushion the blow. Tala's fist sent ripples through the alien suit, but Celeste didn't even flinch. The alien's placid eyes looked down upon Tala's fist, her punch carrying all the nuisance of a mosquito bite. Tala drew her fist back, glancing at the bluish goop covering her knuckles. Celeste also drew a finger along Tala's impact site, frowning at the liquid dribbling along her own fingers.

"It appears you have ruptured my suit," the alien noted. "Now I shall have to make this quick."

XXXXX

Celeste's first blow went straight to Tala's head. Nikki covered her eyes, daring only to look through a tiny crack in her fingers.

A backfoot to the jaw sent Tala reeling. Celeste closed the gap, easily dodging the blind counterattacks, and pulled back her leg. Tala threw up an arm to block, and Nikki's ears were filled with a sickening crack and a howl of pain.

"TALA!"

XXXXX

With her mind reeling from the pain of her broken arm, Tala didn't even feel Celeste kick her legs out from under her. It was a welcome relief, really - her legs were numb from standing, and now she could look up and see Nikki in her private booth. The bluenette was pounding on the window pane, screaming her name.  _'She's cheering for me,'_  Tala laughed deliriously.  _'I must be doing something right...'_

Tremors stamped the floor as Celeste's circled her downed body, a victory lap for the standing predator. She actually paused right by Tala's head, and smirked one last time before raising her hoof.

"Good fight," Tala coughed. "You thought of everything."

"In a prolonged match, you may very well have bested me, Tala Stone. I have stayed alive as long as I have by anticipating my prey's reactions and counter-reactions."

"You're walking into a trap, y'know. Drek's not exactly gonna shower you with money and prizes."

"An audience is all I seek," Celeste shrugged. Tala actually grit her teeth as her rational thinking came back to her.  _'Is fighting all she thinks about? Drek's gonna enslave her, and she's acting like she's won a huge contest!'_

"He's not who you think he is!"

Celeste's hoof hammered down. When Tala opened her eyes, they widened further at the sight of the cloven foot that had smashed through the floorboards directly to the side of her head. Celeste extracted her leg and gave a final, dismissive snort.

"And neither am I."


End file.
